
Mary McDowell Joins Zebra Technologies Board of Directors
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250728321523/en/
Mary McDowell joins Zebra Technologies Board of Directors
McDowell served as President, CEO, and Board Director of Mitel Networks, successfully navigating the $1B-revenue company through the pandemic and a shift in its value-creation strategy. She was also CEO and on the Board of Directors of Polycom, a leader in enterprise communications and collaboration, where she led the company through its strategic transformation and successful sale to Plantronics.
In December 2024, McDowell was named the Board Chair for Informa TechTarget, a NASDAQ-listed company with a leading platform in B2B data and market access. She also serves on the board of Arrow Electronics, a Fortune 500 technology distributor and value-added provider. McDowell previously served on the boards of Autodesk, Informa, UBM, and Bazaarvoice.
'We welcome Mary McDowell to the Zebra Board of Directors and look forward to working with her as we deliver on our vision of digitizing and automating workflows for the frontline of business,' said Anders Gustafsson, Chair, Zebra Technologies. 'Her 30+ years of experience leading global technology organizations through significant business and technology transformations will support our goal of driving long-term value for our shareholders.'
McDowell's earlier roles include Executive Partner at private equity firm Siris Capital and Executive Vice President at Nokia, where she led the company's $15B global feature phone business and associated software services sold in 180 countries with significant revenues coming from emerging markets. She also held senior positions at Hewlett Packard and Compaq Computer.
'I am honored to join the Zebra Board of Directors,' said McDowell. 'Zebra's commitment to creating new ways of working and harnessing the power of automation and AI align well with my passion for building strong, engaged organizations that deliver business success through great products and solutions. I look forward to contributing to the company's continued success.'
With a track record of delivering strong financial performance and shareholder value creation through deep customer and employee engagement, McDowell has extensive domestic and international experience. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Zebra (NASDAQ: ZBRA) provides the solutions to help businesses grow through increased asset visibility, connected frontline workers and intelligent automation. The company operates in more than 100 countries, and our customers include over 80% of the Fortune 500. Designed for the frontline, Zebra's award-winning portfolio includes hardware, software, and services, all backed by our 50+ years of innovation and global partner ecosystem. Follow Zebra on our blog and LinkedIn, visit our newsroom and learn more at www.zebra.com.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Globe and Mail
4 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Starbucks and the art of knowing where you come from
Gus Carlson is a U.S.-based columnist for The Globe and Mail. Almost a year into his tenure as Starbucks SBUX-Q chief executive officer, Brian Niccol has signalled that the future of the beloved but troubled coffee chain is rooted firmly in its past. In announcing the company's third-quarter results last week, Mr. Niccol made it clear that he is focused on recapturing the unique coffeehouse intimacy that was integral to the first small Starbucks in Seattle's Pike Place Market in 1971. In that store, staffed by one person, burlap sacks full of coffee beans lined the shelves on exposed brick walls. Customers could choose fresh beans that were ground up and served piping hot while they waited. Simple, fresh, fast and very personal. Mr. Niccol has reached back to that model. Among his back-to-basics touchstones: investing in staff training to improve a tattered customer experience; refurbishing stores and streamlining operations; rethinking a subpar mobile offering; using technology to reduce waiting times; and recasting menu development to improve quality consistency. Starbucks shares turn lower as CEO Niccol's turnaround plans gain traction Mr. Niccol knows something about turnarounds. He's the guy behind the rejuvenation of Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. He also took Chipotle Mexican Grill from a fringe player to a juggernaut in the highly competitive quick-service restaurant industry. In each case, Mr. Niccol employed a back-to-basics approach to chains that had lost their way when they expanded menus in an attempt to be everything to everyone. The problem with that strategy is that too often the focus on new products and processes dilutes the quality of the tried and true. When that occurs, the core faithful drift away – and as any business will tell you, it's often harder to re-engage a disgruntled customer as it is to entice a new one. Mr. Niccol's strategy for Starbucks seems to be rooted in this mantra: More isn't always better. Concentrate on doing what you do best, but do it better. Starbucks needed to get back to doing what it did best. When Mr. Niccol joined the company, it was a poster child for losing touch with its customers. Store traffic and sales had flagged in the three quarters leading up to his arrival. Store quality had deteriorated, its menu expanded to the point where it was too big to deliver quality consistently, and its digital efforts were weak, leading to long waiting times and incorrect orders. While it was trying to be more things to more people, it lost the unique magic of its brand – offering fast made-to-order fresh coffee on a mass scale. The result was a customer-experience nightmare. Investors worried that it was a situation where justifying US$6 or more for a cup of coffee was unsustainable. Starbucks' weak financial performance and lack of a compelling growth strategy prompted activist investors, led by Elliott Management, to call for a leadership change. Enter Mr. Niccol. Despite reporting a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. same-store sales in the third quarter, revenue beat expectations. He told investors that he was optimistic about the results of an eight-week test of his Green Apron Service program in 1,500 stores. The program, set to roll out in U.S. stores later this summer, will establish new quality and staffing standards to improve store operations and manage peak hours more efficiently. Mr. Niccol said new software will reduce waiting times – 80 per cent of in-store orders are now made in four minutes or less, a target he set last year. He also said he needed to cut back on menu selections before testing new products. Once the simplification is done, he plans to roll out products that are in touch with contemporary customer tastes. On the horizon: protein drinks, new baked goods, including gluten-free and high-protein foods, coconut water and energy drinks, and a new dark-roast coffee. With the new products comes a new process designed to improve preparation and quality consistency. Store employees are now consulted about what menu items can be made quickly and consistently. In the past, menu selections were developed at Starbucks headquarters, and it was up to the baristas to figure out how to make them. As promising as these initiatives are, there's one challenge a reach back in history can't solve: prices. Back in 1971, an entire pound of house-blend coffee beans cost US$1.50 at the first Starbucks store, a fraction of what it costs today. Not even a fast-food magician like Mr. Niccol can make those prices reappear.


CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Boeing workers who build fighter jets plan to go on strike
The Boeing logo is displayed at the company's factory, Sept. 24, 2024, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File) NEW YORK — Boeing workers who build fighter jets are planning to go on strike Monday at midnight. About 3,200 workers at Boeing facilities in St. Louis; St. Charles, Missouri; and Mascoutah, Illinois, voted to reject a modified four-year labor agreement with Boeing, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said Sunday. 'IAM District 837 members build the aircraft and defense systems that keep our country safe,' said Sam Cicinelli, Midwest territory general vice president for the union, in a statement. 'They deserve nothing less than a contract that keeps their families secure and recognizes their unmatched expertise.' The vote followed members' rejection last week of an earlier proposal from the troubled aerospace giant, which had included a 20% wage increase over four years. At the time, union leaders had recommended approving the offer, calling it a 'landmark agreement' and saying the offer would improve medical, pension and overtime benefits. Then there was a cooling-off period of a week, followed by the union members rejecting Boeing's latest proposal. 'We're disappointed our employees rejected an offer that featured 40% average wage growth and resolved their primary issue on alternative work schedules,' said Dan Gillian, Boeing Air Dominance vice president and general manager, and senior St. Louis site executive. 'We are prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers.' Boeing has been struggling after two of its Boeing 737 Max airplanes crashed, one in Indonesia in 2018 and the other in Ethiopia in 2019, killing 346 people. In June, one of Boeing's Dreamliner planes, operated by Air India, crashed, killing at least 260 people. On Tuesday, Boeing had reported that its second-quarter revenue had improved and losses had narrowed. The company lost US$611 million in the second quarter, compared to a loss of $1.44 billion during the same period last year. Cathy Bussewitz, The Associated Press


Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Better Artificial Intelligence Stock: BigBear.ai vs. Nvidia
Key Points has become an AI investor darling over the past few years. Nvidia is the leading artificial intelligence semiconductor company. There's no substitute for high revenue growth and profitability -- and Nvidia has both. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › Many investors are focused on artificial intelligence stocks these days, which can be a smart play as AI transforms many industries. But it's starting to seem like any AI stock is a winner in the market right now, which means some investors may not be doing their due diligence when evaluating companies. With that in mind, two AI companies with surging share prices right now are Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and (NYSE: BBAI), and it may be worth taking a closer look at both to see which one looks like the better AI stock to buy right now. What's happening with Nvidia Nvidia gets top billing in this matchup because the company has experienced monster growth over the past few years as companies clamor for its artificial intelligence semiconductors. An estimated 70% to 95% of data centers utilize Nvidia's AI processors, and there seems to be no slowing down for the company's growth. For example, Nvidia's total sales soared 114% in fiscal 2025 to $130.5 billion, and its earnings skyrocketed 147% to $2.94 per share. This growth has been fueled by the company's data center segment, which experienced a 142% revenue surge to $115 billion last year. The impressive earnings and revenue growth have resulted in Nvidia's stock surging 57% over the past year. That's pushed the company's valuation higher, and Nvidia's shares currently have a price-to-earnings multiple of about 56. That's not cheap, but it's still lower than the average P/E ratio of 64 in the semiconductor industry right now. What's more, Nvidia could continue to benefit from AI investments for many more years to come. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes AI will fuel $2 trillion in data center spending over the next several years. While Nvidia's growth isn't guaranteed, many tech giants have already committed to spending hundreds of billions of dollars to expand their AI data centers over the next few years. That's creating an ongoing opportunity for Nvidia to continue increasing its sales. What's happening with is an AI data analytics company that helps companies and the U.S. government sort through their data to make decisions. AI analytics is a burgeoning AI trend, and it has propelled the stock of similar companies, like Palantir, into the stratosphere. stock, for its part, has jumped 323% over the past year. But despite its impressive gains, there are some significant concerns I have with including its lack of strong revenue growth. sales increased just 5% in Q1 to $34.8 million, and management's outlook for the full year is for $160 million to $180 million -- an increase of just 7.5% at the midpoint. These are fairly unimpressive sales figures for a small AI company that's trying to tap into an expanding artificial intelligence analytics market. One of the company's problems is that 52% of its revenue comes from just four customers. That's a high concentration of sales from just a handful of customers, and it means that if one or two leave, could be in trouble. And then there's the company's lack of earnings. reported a loss of $1.10 per share last year and continued that trend with a loss of $0.25 per share in Q1. While many small start-ups often aren't profitable, it's problematic that the company's lack of earnings comes in addition to unimpressive sales growth. Meanwhile, stock has a price-to-sales ratio of 11, which is substantially higher than the average P/S multiple of 3 for the S&P 500 and means that investors are paying a premium for it right now. Verdict: Nvidia is the hands-down winner Nvidia's stock isn't cheap, and there are always risks with investing in AI stocks that have already experienced astronomical growth. But the company is a hands-down better investment than because it's massively profitable, continually expanding its revenue, and outpaces its rivals in the AI semiconductor market. Meanwhile, stock is overvalued, its revenue growth is unimpressive, and the company isn't profitable. This makes Nvidia the no-brainer in this matchup and one of the best AI stocks to buy and hold for the long term. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $624,823!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,820!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,019% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 178% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025