Alan J. Lacy was the last Chairman and CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Company

Sears, Roebuck and Company

Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...

, which was acquired by Kmart

Kmart

Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...

 in 2005, at which point he became Vice Chairman of that organization.

Early life and education

Lacy earned a BS in Industrial Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

 in 1975 and an MBA from Emory University

Emory University

Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...

 in 1977.

Career

Prior to Sears, Lacy was in senior management positions with Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...

 and its former parent company Altria Group

Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...

. Lacy has also served as a director of The Western Union Company, Sears, Roebuck and Co., Sears Holdings Corporation, Sears Canada Inc., the Economic Club of Chicago, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the National Retail Federation. He has also served as a trustee of the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Field Museum of Natural History.

Lacy joined Sears in 1994 and served in a number of senior positions, including Chief Financial Officer, President-Credit and President-Services before being named CEO in 2000. He became CEO of Sears Holdings Corporation

Sears Holdings Corporation

Sears Holdings Corporation is a retail conglomerate formed in 2005 by the merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co., of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with Kmart Holdings Corporation, of Troy, Michigan...

 following the 2005 acquisition of Sears by Kmart

Kmart

Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...

. He was Vice Chairman prior to his departure in 2006.

In addition to the sale of Sears to Kmart, Lacy's accomplishments included the acquisition of Lands' End

Lands' End

Lands' End is a clothing retailer based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, that specializes in casual clothing, luggage, and home furnishings. The majority of Lands' End's business is conducted through mail order and Internet sales, but the company also runs more than a dozen retail operations, primarily in...

, the sale of Sears credit operation to Citigroup

Citigroup

Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...

 and significant restructuring actions. Despite the competitive challenges Sears faced during his five year tenure as CEO, Sears' share price significantly outperformed the overall market and a number of key competitors (e.g. Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...

 and Home Depot).

He is a member of the board of directors of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and a trustee of Fidelity Funds. He is a trustee and past Chairman the board of the National Parks Conservation Association

National Parks Conservation Association

The National Parks Conservation Association is the only independent, membership organization devoted exclusively to advocacy on behalf of the National Parks System...

. In addition, he is Senior Adviser to Oak Hill Capital Partners.