Candace Matthews Elected Independent Chairper...
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Board Member Candace Matthews
Corporate Board Director & Former CRO, Amway
“The mission of BECA is important to me because mentorship, support, and guidance is so critical to success. If someone had not done it for me, I would not have achieved the level of success in my career. It is imperative that I do it for others.”
Candace Matthews is a retired C-Suite Executive with over 40 years of experience at Fortune 100 companies and four-time public company board director. Her most recent position was the Chief Reputation Officer (CRO) for Amway, responsible for overseeing Amway’s global reputation strategy, Corporate Social Responsibility and Amway Brand. She was also the executive sponsor of Amway’s Diversity & Inclusion employee networks. In that role, Matthews reported directly to the CEO and served on Amway’s Global Leadership Team, Amway’s key decision-making body focused on strategy development and delivering meaningful ABO and customer experiences.
Prior to assuming the role of CRO in 2020, Matthews spent 6 years as Regional President (RP) of the Americas at Amway, heading all operations in North, Central and South America for the $8.8 billion direct-selling leader. During her tenure as RP, revenue increased 20 percent and profitability grew significantly (+6.3 points). With revenues of over $1.5 billion, the region leads the enterprise in growth.
Matthews joined Amway in 2007 as Chief Marketing Officer. Prior, she managed all company operations as president of SoftSheen-Carson, a Consumer Products Division of L’Oreal USA, including the merger of the L’Oreal SoftSheen and Carson businesses. She has held marketing leadership positions at Coca-Cola, CIBA Vision (Novartis) Corporation, Bausch + Lomb, Procter & Gamble and General Mills, where she began her marketing career.
Her board appointments include Aptar (Board Chair), Bic Corporation, Spectrum Health Foundation, Figure Skating in Harlem and Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. Her former board appointments include Miller Knoll, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Fifth Third Bank – Regional Board, Carnegie Mellon University Board of Trustees and Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council.
Matthews earned her B.S. in metallurgical engineering and administrative and management science from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
She is the recipient of many awards, including the Crain’s Grand Rapids Business’ Notable Nonprofit Board Leaders (2024), Black Enterprise “Most Powerful Women in Business” (2019), Café Mocha “Game Changer Award” and the Stanford Graduate School of Business Alumni Tapestry Award (both in 2014), Advertising Age’s “Women to Watch” (2011), Black Enterprise “Corporate Executive of the Year” (2009) and CEW Achiever Award (2007).