Matthew A. Howard '58 parlayed initiative, knowledge, and skill to rise to the senior executive ranks and a highly successful career with the Sears & Roebuck Company, one of America’s largest retail organizations. A 1958 graduate of St. Charles Preparatory School, he provides thoughtful counsel to his high school alma mater as a member of the Advisory Board and as a leader in the current Campaign for St. Charles. In his 31-year career with Sears, Howard rose from the company’s stockroom to its boardroom. He joined the company as a college management trainee in Cleveland after graduating from The Ohio State University in 1962 and steadily climbed the ranks. Howard returned to Columbus in 1964 to help Sears open its first Columbus location in the former Northland Mall. He later transferred to Chicago and served as a vice president in various areas of merchandising before being elevated to senior vice president of marketing and was given charge of all company advertising, sales promotions, and store merchandising. In 1988, he became senior executive vice president of merchandising where he directed all domestic and foreign buying offices, product development, and retail store merchandise assortments. After leaving Sears he was a retail consultant and then became president of Computer City, a $2-billion national computer retail chain. Today Howard serves as a private retail consultant and is a member of several company boards. He is a member of Over The Rainbow, a non-profit group that provides barrier-free housing to enable physically handicapped adults to live independently. As was his career with Sears, Howard’s service to St. Charles has been exemplary. He has been an Advisory Board member for five years, during which time he served a strong leadership role in two capital campaigns. He was Chair of the 2000-2001 Annual Fund, which raised an astounding $330,000; that was a 100% increase over the amount pledged and collected the previous year. Howard currently co-chairs The Campaign for St. Charles with Timothy M. Kelley ’76 and honorary chair Robert D. Walter ’63. Including Matt, four Howard brothers -- Frank ’56, Mike ’63, and Danny ’66 -- have graduated from St. Charles. Their uncle was Monsignor Matthew Howard, a 1928 St. Charles graduate who taught at his alma mater from 1939 to 1955. Howard and his wife Beth, live in Chicago. She is a 1960 graduate of St. Mary of the Springs and is a sister of Tom O’Leary ’64. The Howards are the parents of three grown children, Matt, Patsy, and Molly, and have five grandchildren.

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