Blythe McGarvie Expert on going global, finance and leadership

Blythe McGarvie serves as a member of the boards of directors of publicly-traded and private companies. She serves as Lead Independent Director and Chair of the Nominating and Governance committee of Apple Hospitality REIT, (NYSE: APLE), as Lead Independent Director of Wawa, Inc. (privately held and second largest ESOP owned company in the U.S.) and Cineworld (London-based privately held company). She formerly served on the boards of Pepsi Bottling Group (2002-2020), Accenture (2001-2017), Viacom (2007-2017) Travelers Insurance (2003-2011),Lafarge NA (2004-2006), LKQ Corp (2012-2025), and Sonoco (2014-2026).

She worked in four C-suite roles: CEO of LIF Group, CFO of Société BIC based in Paris France, CFO of Fortune 500 company Hannaford Bros., and CAO of Sara Lee Corporation. As a highly successful leader with a proven track record of increasing shareholder value at these companies, she now dedicates her work as a member of the Board of Directors. Blythe’s financial expertise complemented with leading technology effectiveness in corporate roles and teaching Financial Reporting and Controls at Harvard Business School on a full-time basis are sought-after skills.

In the 2015-2016 academic year, she lived in Zagreb Croatia with her husband as representatives of the US Embassy. In 2018, she served as a Commissioner for the NACD’s Blue Ribbon Commission initiative focused on adaptive governance: to better assess and respond to complex, difficult-to-identify risks that would have a profound economic, operational, and/or reputational effect. In 2019, Blythe presented Corporate Governance topics to various audiences, including PCAOB and Board Member conferences. For ten years, prior to teaching at HBS, Blythe served as the chief executive officer and founder of Leadership for International Finance (LIF Group), which offers a global perspective to clients seeking profitable growth.

Blythe is a certified public accountant (CPA). She earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, which selected her for the Schaffner Award in 1992, presented annually to an alumnus who is preeminent in their field and has provided outstanding service to Kellogg.

Her bestselling book, Shaking the Globe, subtitled Courageous Decision-Making in a Changing World (published by John Wiley & Sons in 2009), provides entrepreneurs and executives with research and actionable ideas to overcome obstacles in a competitive, interconnected world. She is the author of Fit In Stand Out, subtitled Mastering the FISO Factor: The Key to Leadership Effectiveness in Business and Life (published by McGraw-Hill in 2005).

I am honored to join the newly launched WSJ Board of Directors Council, a global community of corporate board leaders tackling the most pressing issues facing companies today.

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