ascena Pays Tribute to “Fearless Girl”

After the ascena retail group, inc.’s quarterly Board of Directors meeting, four women members left the Board Room in Times Square to pay tribute to the “Fearless Girl” statue on Wall Street to underscore the importance of female leadership in business and the need for gender equity on public boards.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170316006239/en/

ascena Board Members Katie Bayne, Senior Vice President, Global Sparkling Brands, The Coca-Cola Company; Kate Buggeln, Senior Advisor, Irving Place Capital; Linda Yaccarino, Chairman of Advertising Sales & Client Partnerships at NBCUniversal; and Kay Krill, former President and CEO of ANN INC. stand with the "Fearless Girl" on Wall Street in solidarity and celebration of female leadership in business, gender equality and the progress ascena has made regarding equal representation on its Board. (Photo by Angela Pham, BFA)

Four of the eight ascena Board Members are women, including Katie Bayne, Senior Vice President, Global Sparkling Brands, The Coca-Cola Company; Kate Buggeln, Senior Advisor, Irving Place Capital; Kay Krill, former President and CEO of ANN INC.; and Linda Yaccarino, Chairman of Advertising Sales & Client Partnerships at NBCUniversal.

“Today, we are proud to stand in solidarity with each other and with the “Fearless Girl” to honor the significant impact and growing influence women have on the future of business and society,” Kay Krill said on behalf of her colleagues on the ascena Board of Directors. “As female leaders, we believe boards need to make meaningful progress in gender equality NOW for the next generation of women as well as for economic success.”

“Gender parity is an issue we feel strongly about, especially as a family of brands that serves women and girls,” said David Jaffe, President and CEO of ascena retail group, inc. “A few years ago, we made the very intentional decision to completely transform our Board with a greater emphasis on gender balance and are proud to have 50% female representation on our Board today.”

About ascena retail group, inc.

ascena retail group, inc. (NASDAQ: ASNA) is a leading national specialty retailer offering apparel, shoes, and accessories for women under the Premium Fashion segment (Ann Taylor, LOFT, and Lou & Grey), Value Fashion segment (maurices and dressbarn), Plus Fashion segment (Lane Bryant and Catherines), and for tween girls under the Kids Fashion segment (Justice). ascena retail group, inc. operates ecommerce websites and approximately 4,900 stores throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

For more information about ascena retail group, inc. visit: ascenaretail.com, AnnTaylor.com, LOFT.com, louandgrey.com, maurices.com, dressbarn.com, lanebryant.com, cacique.com, Catherines.com, and shopjustice.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170316006239/en/