Email
Print
Top Belk exec will step aside for a year
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: June 26, 2009
CHARLOTTE - The three Belk brothers leading Charlotte-based Belk Inc. will soon be down to two: McKay Belk, the company's president and chief merchandising officer, plans to leave his job and take a yearlong sabbatical to devote more time to ministry-related activities.
After the sabbatical, effective Aug. 3, he will begin an 18-month appointment as the company's vice chairman, providing advice on merchandising strategy and vendor relations. He will also remain on the Belk board.
McKay Belk, 52, has run the privately held department store chain with brothers Tim and Johnny Belk since the 2004 retirement of their uncle, longtime chairman and CEO John Belk. Tim Belk, the oldest brother, serves as chairman and CEO, and Johnny Belk is co-president and chief operating officer.
"To have an opportunity to really go explore a number of your passions, it's really hard to put it into words," McKay Belk said in an interview Thursday. "It's very exciting and exhilarating."
Belk will continue to receive his base salary of $761,551 during his leave and the first six months of the vice chairman period. He will also be eligible for incentive pay during the company's current fiscal year. In the remaining year of the vice chairman position, he'll receive half his current salary. He received total compensation of $1.1 million in 2008.
Thirty-eight percent of companies allow some employees to take sabbaticals, according to a 2008 National Study of Employers survey. Belk does not have an official sabbatical policy, and McKay Belk's pay during the transition was approved by the Belk board's compensation committee, spokesman Ralph Pitts said.
McKay Belk serves on numerous community boards and has participated in a range of charitable activities over the years, including Christian mission trips to Africa, Mexico and China. He said Thursday that he seriously considered attending seminary before his father convinced him to join the family company -- 30 years ago this month, at the Matthews Belk store at Eastridge Mall in Gastonia.
But, he said, with his 30th anniversary arriving and a solid merchandising and planning team in place at Belk, he felt the time was right to devote more time to serving others. He said he is still figuring out exactly what he'll do.
The move didn't surprise those at local charities Belk has worked with over the years.
"He really has a heart for the city...I'm delighted for him that he's taking that time to really express his ministry the Lord has given him," said Blease Turner, executive director of the Harvest Center, a Charlotte nonprofit devoted to serving homeless and low-income families. "We're looking forward to talking with him and seeing where that will lead him."
Belk, who serves on the organization's board, has volunteered, served meals and talked to and encouraged many of the men at the center, Turner said. He has also taken the microphone to read Bible passages and helped bring in international pastors to speak.
In his current role at Belk, McKay Belk spent most of his time directing and crafting merchandise assortments and marketing. In the last five years, he has helped boost the chain's private brands, introducing successful lines such as the Kristin Davis Collection. Private brands now make up about 30 percent of Belk's total sales, up from about 6 percent five years ago, McKay Belk said.
Thursday, he said he has most enjoyed working with people and learning from them. For their part, his brothers praised his contributions to the company.
"McKay has done a great job building his team, and we have a strong foundation in place," Tim Belk said via e-mail. "We will miss his leadership and voice at the table."
Email
Print
