Alice M. Peterson
Bio
After starting her career in large public companies (PepsiCo, Kraft, Sears), Alice shifted to smaller high-growth businesses. Her early focus was finance and M&A before moving to operating roles. She ran the Treasury and Corporate Finance functions at Sears when it was a $50 billion conglomerate. She had a key role in the company’s restructuring (mid-1990s) and was asked to lead the Sears Online business in 1999; she grew it from zero to $500 million in revenue in 18 months. She left the Fortune 100 world and in 2002 founded Syrus Global. Syrus created a technology platform to provide risk management, ethics and compliance solutions for businesses large and small. This service became a core service for businesses focused on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG). Syrus was acquired by a public company in 2009. She stayed with the acquiring company through 2011 to open and grow markets in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Prior to joining Fluresh, Ms. Peterson ran a healthcare start-up where she operationalized the founder’s concept, raised capital, and enhanced the user experience. She had previously worked in private equity, where she bought, turned around, and sold companies with her partners. She started and ran Big Shoulders Capital, an asset-based lender.
Alice has served on the boards of large and small, public and private companies, for more than 20 years. Public company boards include 360 Communications, Fleming Companies, TBC Corporation, Hanesbrands, and Williams Partners. She currently serves on the board of SP Plus Corporation (NASDAQ) and chairs its Audit Committee. She is a qualified financial expert. She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network, and the International Women’s Forum. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from the University of Louisville and an MBA in finance from Vanderbilt University.