Phyllis Sewell Proved an Accidental Role Model for Female Executives

By James R. Hagerty 

After graduating from college, Phyllis Shapiro wasn't expecting a long career. She needed something to keep her busy until she got married and started a family.

A notice in her hometown paper, the Cincinnati Enquirer, caught her eye: "Wanted: young college graduate, no typing or shorthand required." She got the job: research analyst at Federated Department Stores Inc., now known as Macy's Inc.

After she married and had a child, the company proved surprisingly flexible, allowing her to work three-day weeks for a spell. Under her married name, Phyllis Sewell, she rose to senior vice president, responsible for research and planning, and served on the boards of several other big companies, including Sysco Corp., Lee Enterprises Inc., Pitney Bowes Inc. and U.S. Shoe Corp.

She never thought of herself as a role model or feminist, said her son, Charles Sewell. Still, she became a mentor for other women in business, including Karen Hoguet, now Macy's chief financial officer.

Mrs. Sewell died of congestive heart failure Dec. 26, her 86th birthday, in New York.

Her role at Federated was to figure out such things as what customers craved and which promotions and ads worked best. She also oversaw the creation of customer databases. "She was usually the smartest person in the room," said James Zimmerman, a former chief executive of Federated. "She didn't say a lot, but when she did say something you knew it was time to shut up and listen."

Phyllis Gay Shapiro was born Dec. 26, 1930, in Cincinnati. Her father was a pharmacist, and her mother kept the books at his pharmacy. Phyllis Shapiro graduated from Wellesley College with an economics degree in 1952.

"I did not expect to have a career," she told the Cincinnati Enquirer in 2004. "In the early '50s, women were expected to get married and have a family. Very few, even at Wellesley, thought about working."

Finding a husband took longer than she expected, but she met Martin Sewell at a bridge party. He worked as a photographer and darkroom technician and later as a stockbroker and investment counselor. They married in 1959.

Her career flourished despite a few snubs. She wasn't invited to join an executive lunch group at the company when a man of the same rank was. When she protested, a human-resources executive explained that life wasn't fair.

"She took me under her wing," said Ms. Hoguet, who was hired by Mrs. Sewell. Among other things, Ms. Hoguet said, Mrs. Sewell gave helpful advice about juggling work, family and community life.

John Landsman, who worked in her research department in the 1980s, said she asked penetrating questions. When he came back from a meeting with one of the operating companies after making a presentation, he felt pleased with his effort. She asked what the operating company would do differently based on his presentation. The lesson, he said, was that it didn't matter how brilliant a report was if no one acted on it.

After retiring in 1988, she continued to serve on corporate boards and did volunteer work for organizations including the United Way, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Jewish Federation.

Her husband, Martin, died in 1997. She is survived by a sister, her son and two grandchildren.

Write to James R. Hagerty at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 06, 2017 10:14 ET (15:14 GMT)

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