Caleres appoints Kathleen Welter as CHRO

Caleres (CAL) announced Kathleen Welter has joined the company as chief human resources officer. Welter will oversee all human resources functions for the company’s portfolio of brands and its more than 9,000 Associates worldwide, including recruitment, talent management, training, culture, compensation, benefits and labor law compliance. Welter will be a member of the company’s leadership team and will report to President and CEO Jay Schmidt. She will be based in St. Louis. Doug Koch, current chief human resources officer, will remain at Caleres for a 30-day transition period with Welter and to support special projects until his retirement at year-end. Most recently Welter was the principal lead for the HR team at Woodard & Curran as vice president of human resources.