Office Depot names new international president

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot announced that Steve Schmidt has been named president international. Schmidt, who previously served as EVP corporate strategy and new business development, will continue to report to Neil Austrian, chairman and CEO of Office Depot.

Schmidt will oversee Office Depot’s multichannel (contract, direct and retail) international business that sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 56 countries outside of the U.S. and Canada.

“Steve’s diverse business experience and leadership skills will enable us to execute our portfolio optimization strategy, continue the progress we are making in terms of business restructuring and process improvement, and help us win small- and medium-sized business customers (SMBs) around the globe,” Austrian said. “With Steve at the helm, I am confident that the initiatives we have in place will drive sales, improve our overall cost structure, reduce G&A expenses, and increase shareholder returns – despite the extremely challenging business environment that we are facing in many parts of the world.”

Schmidt joined Office Depot in July 2007 as president North American business solutions division. Before Office Depot, Schmidt was with ACNielsen Corp., the world’s largest marketing information and research company, where he spent 12 years in senior management roles, including almost five years as president and CEO, with direct supervision of 115 countries. Prior to ACNielsen, Schmidt spent eight years at Pillsbury Food Company, serving as the company’s president of Canada and Southeast Asia. He also held management positions at PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble.

Schmidt is a graduate of Purdue University and holds a BA in Industrial Administration. He is a member of the boards of the Purdue Research Foundation and Krannert School of Management