The realm of retailing in St. Louis has changed dramatically over the past several years. As part of a national trend of consolidation in the retail sector, Federated Department Stores Inc. of Cincinnati acquired St. Louis-based May Department Stores Co. This has brought to the region a major new brand in retailing—namely, Macy’s. This corporate change also brought with it new leaders to our community. This month’s St. Louis Commerce cover story features Bill McNamara, chairman and CEO of Macy’s Midwest. He oversees merchandising and marketing for more than 100 stores stretching from Kansas City to western New York. He shares his perspectives both on emerging trends in retailing nationally, as well as what Macy’s has in store for St. Louis. In another dimension of retailing, this month’s issue examines a retail success story launched by May Department alumni and entrepreneur Maxine Clark. The founder and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. is introducing a new line of furniture to the store known for allowing customers to build their own teddy bears and other stuffed toys. This month’s issue of St. Louis Commerce also focuses on attorneys and the process of recruiting talent to law firms across our region. Plus, the issue provides a fresh look at aerospace manufacturing and the boom that is occurring in this sector. This month’s magazine also features an in-depth look at education. Our coverage of education runs the gamut from an effort underway to improve the performance of our public schools, to the range of outstanding higher-education institutions across the region. One of the unique attributes of St. Louis’ higher-education assets is a focused effort on linking education with the workforce in a program called Workforce St. Louis 2.0. We also explore the continued emergence of Teach for America in St. Louis. As part of our focus on education, our spotlight this month is on one of our region’s higher education leaders, Dr. John McGuire. He is president of St. Charles Community College. During his leadership over the past 10 years, enrollment at the school has increased by 79 percent. Read how one decision while attending college changed his career course significantly and eventually landed him in the St. Louis region. We hope you enjoy reading this issue of St. Louis Commerce Magazine. As always, please send your comments and suggestions to us at dfleming@stlrcga.org. Cheers. RICHARD C.D. FLEMING President and Chief Executive Officer St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association

February 2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cover story with Bill McNamara, Macy’s Midwest. Created by Jim Hodges. Robbyn Wahby Teach for America - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.stlrcga.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Doug Moore Blair Forlaw Rodney Crim Dr. John McGuire - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -