Sharon Price John, President and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, will be the first speaker in the Century Club series that kicks off Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. in Emerson Auditorium, Knight Hall. The continental breakfast club/networking event featuring prominent business leaders has been an Olin tradition since 1979.

Sharon Price John became CEO of Build-A-Bear in 2013. Since then, she has led the company through a successful financial turnaround, while refreshing the nearly 20-year-old brand.

Before joining Build-A-Bear, Sharon was President of the Stride Rite Children’s Group LLC, leading product creation, marketing and distribution. Prior to SRCG, she drove the global strategy and marketing for Hasbro’s preschool portfolio. Prior to that, she held senior roles, including Marketing Director of Barbie and VP of International for the Disney Business Unit.

Her career began in the advertising industry working at top agencies in New York. Sharon holds a bachelors degree in communications from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and an MBA from Columbia University.