{{Short description|American businessperson}} {{Infobox person | name = Judith Kay Hofer | image = Judi Hofer.jpg | caption = | birth_date = February 16, 1940 | birth_place = Hillsboro, Oregon, U.S. | birth_name = | death_date = {{death date and age|2013|12|14|1940|02|16}} | death_place = Portland, Oregon, U.S. | nationality = | occupation = Businessperson, CEO | known_for = President & CEO of Meier & Frank | alma_mater = Oregon State University<br>Portland State University | website = }} '''Judith ("Judi) Kay Hofer''' (February 16, 1940 — December 14, 2013) was an American businesswoman. A native of Oregon, she rose to be a top executive in The May Department Stores Company, which was sold to Macy's in 2006 for a total of $1.2 billion. ==Early life== Hofer was born at Tuality Hospital in Hillsboro, Oregon, on February 16, 1940, to Frank E. and Helen L. Hofer.<ref name=obituary>{{cite web|title=Judith Kay Hofer|url=http://obits.oregonlive.com/obituaries/oregon/obituary.aspx?pid=169389158|website=Obituary|publisher=OregonLive|accessdate=26 July 2015}}</ref> She was one of five siblings growing up on a farm.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|last1=Friedman|first1=Nicole|last2=Gunderson|first2=Laura|last3=Schmidt|first3=Brad|title=Judi Hofer, former Meier & Frank executive, passes away at 73|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/12/judi_hofer_former_meier_frank.html|accessdate=26 July 2015|work=The Oregonian/OregonLive|date=December 15, 2013}}</ref> At the age of 15 she started a long career at Meier & Frank, then a Portland, Oregon-based department store chain.<ref name=slbj>{{cite news|last1=Tucci|first1=Linda|title=Judi Hofer directs merchandising for May stores|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2001/08/13/focus17.html|accessdate=26 July 2015|work=St. Louis Business Journal|date=August 12, 2001}}</ref> Hofer kept working for the company during college at Portland State University and Oregon State University.<ref name=obit/>
==Career== Meier & Frank was sold to The May Department Stores Company in 1966. In March 1972, she was put in charge of a new young adult store inside one of the Meier & Frank department stores and was known for her fashion in Portland, Oregon.<ref>{{cite news|title=In one ear|work=The Oregonian|date=March 12, 1972|page=3}}</ref> After moving to San Francisco, California, to work for the Emporium, she returned to Meier & Frank in 1978.<ref name=prez>{{cite news|last1=Heltzel|first1=Ellen Emry|title=Store's chief makes dream become reality|work=The Oregonian|date=September 14, 1981|page=C1}}</ref> She was named as president of Meier & Frank in August 1981, the first woman to hold that post within the May Company.<ref name=obit/><ref name=prez/> As president she raised sales and renovated stores.<ref>{{cite news|title=M&F renews fashion quality commitment |work=The Oregonian|date=September 15, 1983|page=E3}}</ref> In January 1983, Hofer was then promoted to president of May Company's California operations, taking over in March.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sorensen|first1=Donald|title=Hofer named chief of May Co. in California|work=The Oregonian|date=January 27, 1983|page=D9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sorensen|first1=Donald|last2=Heltzel|first2=Ellen Emry|title=Hofer intends to turn May into certainty|work=The Oregonian|date=February 13, 1983|page=D2}}</ref>
She was named to the board of directors of Greyhound in August 1984.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Nicholas|first1=Jonathan|title=Going to the Dogs|work=The Oregonian|date=September 3, 1984|page=B1}}</ref> Hofer was also named by ''Savvy'' magazine as one of the top 10 businesswomen while in charge of May's California division.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Adelson |first1=Andrea|title=Female Executives Prosper in L.A. - Entertainment, Retail Industries EMBRACE Elite Group of Women|work= Daily News of Los Angeles|date= December 8, 1985|page=1}}</ref> In February 1986, Hofer was promoted to president of Famous-Barr, another department store chain owned by the May Company.<ref>{{cite news|title=Former M&F chief moves up|work=The Oregonian|date=February 14, 1986|page=F11}}</ref> She returned to Oregon and Meier & Frank in 1991.<ref>{{cite news|title= Judi Hofer|work= St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date= January 13, 1991|page=PD Magazine, 6}}</ref> As president again, she continued to face sexism as she was not allowed to join the Waverley Country Club at the time, which excluded single women from membership.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Filips|first1=Janet|title=Women tell experiences at ex-men-only clubs|work=The Oregonian|date=February 9, 1991|page=C3}}</ref> Hofer left for Boston, Massachusetts-based Filene's in 1996,<ref name=slbj/> where she oversaw changes in the design of the fragrance and cosmetic sections.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gatlin|first1=Greg|title=Filene's considers cosmetic changes|work=Boston Herald|date=December 3, 1998|page=49}}</ref> Hofer then returned to St. Louis, Missouri, to head May's merchandising division in 2000 before retiring in 2002.<ref name=obit/><ref name=retire>{{cite news|last1= Cuniberti |first1= Betty |title=Woman found her place as pioneering CEO|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date= August 11, 2002|page=E1}}</ref>
==Later life== Hofer returned to Oregon in 2002 when she retired.<ref name=retire/> She did not marry and had no children, so in 2004 she auctioned off many in her extensive doll collection to raise money for Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital (now Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel) and a tutoring organization.<ref name=obit/> Hofer was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, but died of cancer at her home in Southwest Portland on December 14, 2013, at the age of 73.<ref name=obit/>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofer, Judi}} Category:1940 births Category:2013 deaths Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American businesswomen Category:21st-century American businesspeople Category:American businesspeople in retailing Category:American chief executives in retailing Category:American women chief executives Category:Oregon State University alumni Category:Portland State University alumni Category:Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon Category:Businesspeople from St. Louis Category:People from Hillsboro, Oregon Category:American women corporate directors Category:Deaths from cancer in Oregon Category:21st-century American businesswomen