Mullin Retires From NRF, Shay Will Lead Group
Matt Shay, president and chief executive officer of the International Franchise Association, was named president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.–based National Retail Federation. Tracy Mullin, who served as president of NRF since 1993, will retire from the trade group. Shay will be elected formally at the June 22 NRF board meeting.He was trained as a lawyer and first served with the IFA as its vice president and director of government relations. In 2004, he was named president of the IFA and added the title of CEO in 2007. In a prepared statement, he said, “Retail is the lifeblood of our economy, and with the challenges we face on Capitol Hill, the stakes have never been higher. There is a lot of work to be done, and I’m very excited to get started.”
Last year, Mullin announced she planned to step down from her role as NRF’s executive. During her tenure, she oversaw a tripshy;ling of the NRF’s annual budget from $12 million to $35 million. NRF acquired several independent trade associations, including Menswear Retailers of America, Shop.org and the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association. She also opened the trade organization up to a broader spectrum of businesses, including restaurants, e-commerce and catalogues.—Andrew Asch
