TMCnet News
Barbara Turf, former Crate and Barrel CEO, dies at 71 [Chicago Tribune :: ](Chicago Tribune (IL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 14--Barbara Turf, a recently retired CEO of Northbrook-based Crate and Barrel, has died, her family and the company said Sunday. Mrs. Turf, 71, died Saturday, July 12, at Evanston Hospital, of pancreatic cancer, her son, Andrew Turf, said in an email. Mrs. Turf took the helm of the home furnishings retailer in 2008 after founder and longtime CEO Gordon Segal retired, according to a company statement. She joined Crate and Barrel as a part-time saleswoman in 1967, moving to its corporate headquarters in 1974. She is credited with handling creative duties while Segal ran the operations, and she also oversaw the company's opening of stores outside the U.S. Mrs. Turf retired as CEO in 2012 and joined the company's board of directors, the company said in a statement. Her "impeccable eye for style, trend and design defined the merchandising and marketing vision of Crate and Barrel," CEO Sascha Bopp said in a statement Sunday. "Crate and Barrel would not be the company it is today without Barbara's leadership, influence and inspiration." Mrs. Turf had lived in Winnetka since 1998 but was raised in an Italian neighborhood on Chicago's Lower West Side, wrote her son in an email. She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and had served on the board of directors for the Gucci Group and Ann Taylor Stores Corp., according to a statement from Crate and Barrel. Mrs. Turf is survived by her husband of 40 years, Robert Turf, three children and two grandchildren, her son said in an email. Services are pending. [email protected] ___ (c)2014 the Chicago Tribune Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |