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Two H&R Block Board Members Named to Savoy Magazine’s 2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors List

3 min read

3 min read

October 28, 2021


Mia Mends and Sean Cohan joined H&R Block Board of Directors in April 2021

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) announced today that Mia Mends and Sean Cohan, members of the company’s board of directors, have been named to Savoy magazine’s 2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors list. The directory is a prestigious listing of executives, influencers and achievers active on the boards of the world’s leading corporations and organizations. As part of their roles on the board, Mends serves on the H&R Block nominating and governance and audit committees and Cohan serves on the nominating and governance and compensation committees. 

“I am proud to congratulate Mia and Sean on this achievement,” said Robert A. Gerard, H&R Block’s chairman of the board. “Mia and Sean have been valuable members of the H&R Block board of directors since joining in April and I look forward to their ongoing contributions during this next phase of growth and transformation for H&R Block.”

Mia Mends, Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer and CEO, Impact Ventures of Sodexo Inc.

Mends has served as global chief diversity & inclusion officer and CEO, Impact Ventures of Sodexo Inc., since May 2021. Sodexo provides quality of life services, including dining and meal services, vending and convenience services, integrated facilities management services, and healthier workforce initiatives. Prior to this role, she served as Sodexo’s chief administrative officer, North America, andled SodexoMAGIC, a joint venture between Sodexo and Magic Johnson Enterprises, beginning in July 2019.  Prior to that, Mends was CEO of Sodexo’s Benefits & Rewards Services from 2015 until 2019, and vice president, sales, for the Americas Region in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from 2012 until 2015.

Before joining Sodexo, Mends was general manager of the Prepaid Debit Card Division of Noventis Inc. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mends serves on the boards of Girls Inc. of Greater Houston and the EMERGE Fellows program and sits on the Business Leadership Council at Wellesley College and the Alumni Board of Harvard Business School. She is also a corporate director of Limeade Inc, an employee engagement software company.

Sean Cohan, Chief Growth Officer and President, International of Nielsen

Cohan has served as chief growth officer and president, international of Nielsen Holdings plc, a publicly traded global media measurement and data analytics company, since March 2020. Cohan has decades of experience in business-to-business and consumer media, including 15 years at A+E Networks, where he most recently served as president, international and digital media from 2015 to 2018. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard and a master’s from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Cohan sits on the board of directors/trustees for the Parrish Art Museum, the Banff World Media Festival, and the National Association of Television Programming Executives and is treasurer and board member of The Opportunity Network. He also sits as a committee vice chair on UJA Federation of New York. Cohan is also a board director at AccuWeather.

For more information on Savoy magazine’s 2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors, please visit savoynetwork.com/mibcd-2021/.

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About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) provides help and inspires confidence in its clients and communities everywhere through global tax preparationfinancial products, and small-business solutions. The company blends digital innovation with the human expertise and care of its associates and franchisees as it helps people get the best outcome at tax time and better manage and access their money year-round. Through Block Advisors and Wave, the company helps small-business owners thrive with innovative products like Wave Money, a small-business banking and bookkeeping solution, and the only business bank account to manage bookkeeping automatically. For more information, visit H&R Block News or follow @HRBlockNews on Twitter.

About Savoy magazine

Savoy magazine is a quarterly national publication covering the power, substance, and style of African American lifestyle. From business to news, sports to entertainment, design to technology, Savoy is a cultural catalyst that highlights timely topics and drives positive dialogue on and about Black culture. Connect with Savoy: Twitter – www.twitter.com/savoynetwork, Facebook – www.facebook.com/savoymagazine, LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/company/savoy-magazine.