BBH Leadership Speaker Series with Tim Belk

Tim Belk, retired CEO & Chairman, Belk Inc., largest privately-owned department store in the United States

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Penn Club, 30 West 44th Street

BIO

Tim Belk is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Belk, Inc. After more than 35 years at Belk and 10 years as the company’s CEO, Tim stepped down from management in July 2016 and continues to serve on the Belk, Inc. Board of Directors. William Henry Belk founded the business in 1888, and it grew for 100 years as a family owned confederation of separate, private corporate entities. In 1998, those individual entities were merged into a single corporation, and in 2004, Tim and his two brothers became the third generation of Belks to assume management of the company. Belk, Inc. remained under family control until it was acquired in 2015 by Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm based in New York.

After receiving a degree in economics from Williams College and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tim began his career at Belk as a full-time associate in 1981, and served in a variety of roles at the company before being promoted in 1998 to president of store divisions, human resources, real estate and visual presentation. When his uncle, John Montgomery Belk, retired in 2004, Tim was named chairman and chief executive officer. With two significant acquisitions, a rebranding of the company under the moniker “Modern. Southern. Style.” and an increasing digital business, Belk grew to $4 billion in sales with 300 stores in 16 states under Tim’s leadership.

Continuing the family’s legacy of philanthropy, the company invested millions of dollars in nonprofits serving the communities where Belk operates. Key gifts included the establishment of the Belk Mobile Mammography Center, a gift to UNC Charlotte to foster innovation and data analytics, and extensive support of United Way throughout the Belk footprint.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER SERIES

Launched in 2016, the Brown Brothers Harriman Family Business Leadership Speaker Series at Columbia Business School welcomes global family business leaders to campus to share their unique perspectives and to interact with students and alumni. This series, supported with a gift from Brown Brothers Harriman, serves as an important platform for building the School’s network of family business leaders including alumni, students, academics, and friends.