Office Depot names Wendy’s exec as CFO

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot, formed by the merger of Office Depot and OfficeMax, announced the appointment of Stephen Hare as executive VP and CFO, effective immediately. Hare replaces co-CFO Mike Newman, who has retired from the company, and interim Co-CFO Deb O’Connor, who has returned to her position as senior VP, finance and co-chief accounting officer.



Hare comes to Office Depot from The Wendy’s Company where he served as senior VP and CFO from 2011 until September 2013. Prior to that, he was senior VP and CFO of Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, from 2008 through 2011. Previously, he served as CFO of Arby’s Restaurant Group.



Hare will report to Office Depot’s new chairman and CEO Roland Smith. Prior to joining the newly combined company, Smith was CEO of Delhaize America. And before that, he was CEO of Wendy’s and the Wendy’s/Arby’s Group.



"Having worked closely with Steve on transforming businesses in the past, I know he brings to Office Depot, Inc. the knowledge and discipline needed to realize the synergies inherent in the merger of Office Depot and OfficeMax," Smith said. "I am confident that Steve's financial skills and wealth of operations and management experience will enable us to be a more competitive and efficient provider of office products and services, and set us on a path for sustainable growth.