Office Depot Honored with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 2013 Corporate Leadership Award

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced that it has been recognized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force with the 2013 Corporate Leadership Award. The award was presented during the 25th National Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Equality: Creating Change, and acknowledges Office Depot as a corporation that effectively partners with and supports the LGBT community and its LGBT associates. The conference, which took place January 23 – 27, in Atlanta, Ga., is the nation’s largest annual gathering of LGBT rights activists and allies.

“Office Depot believes in providing equal opportunities, rights and benefits to all of our associates, and we feel it is imperative to conducting a successful business and recruiting the best talent. In addition, diversity and inclusion play a vital role in the entirety of our supply chain.”

“We are honored to receive the 2013 Corporate Leadership Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force,” said Michael Allison, Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Office Depot. “Office Depot believes in providing equal opportunities, rights and benefits to all of our associates, and we feel it is imperative to conducting a successful business and recruiting the best talent. In addition, diversity and inclusion play a vital role in the entirety of our supply chain.”

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force presented Office Depot with the Corporate Leadership award in recognition of the Company’s support for its LGBT associates, which includes establishing a long list of internal benefits and protections, notably health benefits to transgender associates. The Company also assists LGBT-owned businesses through leadership efforts in supplier diversity and strategic relationships with LGBT business enterprises. In addition, Office Depot supports and belongs to a variety of LGBT organizations and causes, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

“We thank Office Depot for its exemplary support of the LGBT community and for providing direct financial and in-kind support to our organization, which has allowed us to expand our training capacity and help empower many more young individuals to become leaders of their generation and of the LGBT community across the country,” said David Alexander, Director of Institutional Giving for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

In addition to accepting the Corporate Leadership Award, Allison and Robyn Tyler, Vice President of Global Talent Management for Office Depot, served as panelists during a workshop session on “Taking the Leap: Becoming Corporate!” where they and other corporate leaders advised attendees on how to make the jump from college graduate to landing a corporate job and the opportunities that exist. Frantz Tiffeau, Senior Director of Supplier Diversity for Office Depot also served as a panelist during a workshop session on “Economics and Equality,” which discussed economic development for the LGBT movement.

About Office Depot

Office Depot provides office supplies and services through 1,675 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs, and global e-commerce operations. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $11.5 billion, employs about 39,000 associates, and serves customers in 60 countries around the world.

Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com and http://socialpress.officedepot.com/.