ascena retail group Honored as a Corporate Game Changer by Women’s Forum of New York at 2017 Breakfast of Corporate Champions

Today, ascena and David Jaffe, Chairman and CEO, were honored by the Women’s Forum of New York at the fourth biennial Breakfast of Corporate Champions for achieving at least 25 percent female representation on their board. The company, which has a representation of 50% percent women on their board, was applauded as a corporate game changer who is making special efforts to advance women in the boardroom.

“Diversity makes us stronger,” said David Jaffe, Chairman and CEO. “Our mission revolves around serving and inspiring women. Diversity on our Board, as well as across the company, leads to more innovation and ideas. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart choice.”

“We congratulate ascena and their work towards achieving a greater gender balance in their boardroom,” said Janice Reals Ellig, CEO, The Ellig Group and Chair of the event. “ascena knows that more women on boards is smart business and their continued success is an inspiration to others."

The event brought together an audience of over 600, including CEOs and Board Directors along with business leaders, government officials, thought leaders and influential media in special recognition of forward-thinking companies.

This year's Breakfast of Corporate Champions kicked off with a call to action from tennis legend Billie Jean King, who founded the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative with Teneo four years ago, to foster more inclusive leadership including more representation of women and diversity in corporate America. The highest honor, the Muriel F. Siebert Leadership Award, will be presented to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors for under her leadership, the company became the first major industrial corporation to achieve gender parity on its board.

For more information on about ascena please visit https://www.ascena.com or to learn more about the Women's Forum of New York and the Women's Forum CEO-Sponsored Database, please visit https://www.womensforumny.org/.

About ascena retail group, inc.

ascena retail group, inc. (NASDAQ: ASNA) is a leading national specialty retailer offering apparel, shoes, and accessories for women under the Premium Fashion segment (Ann Taylor, LOFT, and Lou & Grey), Value Fashion segment (maurices and dressbarn), Plus Fashion segment (Lane Bryant and Catherines), and for tween girls under the Kids Fashion segment (Justice). ascena retail group, inc. operates ecommerce websites and approximately 4,800 stores throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

For more information about ascena retail group, inc. visit: ascenaretail.com, AnnTaylor.com, LOFT.com, louandgrey.com, maurices.com, dressbarn.com, lanebryant.com, Catherines.com, and shopjustice.com.

About the Women's Forum of New York

The Women’s Forum of New York is the city’s premier organization of women leaders. The invitation-only membership of more than 500 women, representing the highest levels of achievement across all professional sectors from finance to fine arts, is dedicated to the advancement of women’s leadership through programs which enrich members lives personally and professionally, through The Education Fund which enables talented women whose potential has been disrupted by extreme adversity to resume their education, and through the Corporate Board Initiative, which extends and expands the contribution of women leaders through corporate board participation. Founded in 1974, the Women's Forum of New York is the flagship of the International Women's Forum, a global organization of over 6500 outstanding women leaders in over 74 Forums around the world.

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