Content about chairman and CEO

April 1, 2013
PPG acquires AkzoNobel North American architectural coatings business

With this acquisition, PPG has expanded its reach in all three major North American distribution channels, including home centers, independent paint dealers and company-owned paint stores.

February 26, 2013
Home Depot net earnings jump 31.9%

The world’s largest home improvement retailer posted fourth-quarter earnings in excess of $1 billion.

February 7, 2013
Scotts Miracle-Gro Q1 sales rise

Scotts Miracle-Gro posted first-quarter net sales of $205.8 million, up 3% from $199.6 million during the same quarter a year ago.

January 8, 2013
Viking Range acquired

The Middleby Corp. has purchased Viking Range Corp. for $380 million in cash. Headquartered in Greenwood, Miss., Viking is a leading manufacturer of high-end residential cooking ranges, ovens and kitchen appliances. Annual revenues are approximately $200 million

December 13, 2012
IP to sell Temple-Inland

Less than a year after purchasing it in a hostile takeover, International Paper (IP) has agreed to sell its Temple-Inland Building Products division to Georgia-Pacific for $750 million in cash, subject to certain pre-and post-closing adjustments. The assets to be sold include16 manufacturing facilities: five solid wood mills, four particleboard plants, two medium-density fiberboard plants, one fiberboard plant and four gypsum wallboard plants. 

December 6, 2012
Despite snowthrower challenge, Toro grows in 2012

Bloomington, Minn.-based The Toro Co. reported net earnings of $129.5 million for the full year ended Oct. 31, up from earnings of $117.7 million in 2011. 

Net sales increased 4% to $1.96 billion for its fiscal year. 

For the fourth quarter, Toro reported net earnings of $0.3 million, down from $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Net sales decreased 7.8% to $339.3 million in the quarter. 

October 30, 2012
Frank Blake addresses Virginia Commonwealth University

Home Depot chairman and CEO Frank Blake addressed the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business on Oct. 25, joined by his son, Home Depot district manager Frank Blake Jr., who also serves as an adjunct professor in the School of Business' Executive M.B.A. Program. The senior Blake spoke as part of the business speaker series at the Charles G. Thalhimer Family Executive-in-Residence program.

October 11, 2012
A. O. Smith names executive chairman, CEO

A. O. Smith's board of directors has announced Paul Jones will transition from chairman and CEO to executive chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2013. Ajita Rajendra will assume the role of president and CEO.

Jones will continue to lead the company’s board of directors as the executive chairman and will remain involved in the company’s strategy development, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, and developing executive talent for the Milwaukee-based water technology company.

August 28, 2012
Flying on the company’s dime

An article in HCN Monday about the coach-only travel policy at Tractor Supply led to unanimous support for the coach class cabin for business trips.

“We have never flown first class unless we were bumped up. Never paid for it in 41 years.” — George A. Pattee Chairman and CEO Parksite

July 24, 2012
Gift card factors in mortgage pitch

Recent promotions for a refinancing deal through Third Federal Savings & Loan include a Home Depot connection -- a $100 gift card for borrowers.

“Open your Third Federal Smart Rate Mortgage by Aug. 24 and we’ll give you a $100 gift card to The Home Depot,” writes Third Federal chairman and CEO Marc Stefanski in the postscript to a letter to mass letter to homeowners. 

June 25, 2012
Former Temple-Inland CEO joins Weyerhaeuser board

Doyle Simons, the former chairman and CEO of Temple-Inland, has joined the board of directors of Weyerhaeuser, effective June 29, 2012, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The 49-year-old executive held various positions with Temple-Inland, including executive VP from 2005 through 2007 and chief administrative officer from 2003 to 2005. He became CEO and chairman in 2008 and served until February 2012, when Temple-Inland was acquired by International Paper Co.

May 2, 2012
Whirlpool opens campus in Michigan

Whirlpool Corp. has announced the opening of its new, state-of-the-art Riverview Campus in Benton Harbor, Mich.

"With the opening of this beautiful and spacious campus, we are looking forward to a continued future with the city of Benton Harbor, which we have been proud to call home for over 100 years," said Jeff Fettig, chairman and CEO. "The Riverview Campus allows Whirlpool Corp. to deliver on improvements in productivity, operations, energy efficiency and overall employee experience."

March 1, 2012
Tractor Supply ups its store growth potential

Tractor Supply has increased its estimated domestic store growth potential to 2,100 locations from a previously estimated 1,800 stores.

Jim Wright, chairman and CEO, said: “Over the past four years, we have effectively tested and validated the viability of the Tractor Supply store model in small markets. We are pleased that we are able to generate a comparable rate of return on investment in these markets, which opens up additional growth opportunities for Tractor Supply stores. We believe we have a long runway of growth ahead of us.”

January 3, 2012
WOLF kicks off 2012 with corporate restructuring

York, Pa.-based building products company WOLF renamed and reorganized several divisions amid a slew of new appointments. 

The restructuring will result in a reduction in the number of business units from 13 to seven for the company that said it is continuing its transition from a traditional distributor to "an innovative new supply-chain model."

December 6, 2011
Toro Co. posts record results in 2011

Bloomington, Minn.-based Toro Co. posted record sales in 2011, including a 5.8% sales gain in the company's residential segment. 

“Fiscal 2011 was a very good year for the Toro Co., delivering record revenues and earnings per share,” said Michael Hoffman, Toro’s chairman and CEO.

For the year, the company's total earnings were up 26.3% to $117.7 million, and net sales were up 11.5% to $1.884 billion. In the fourth quarter, net earnings increased from $3.2 million to $5 million, as net sales increased 9.1% to $337.3 million.

November 9, 2011
Bill Bollin of Bostwick-Braun receives lifetime honor

Bill Bollin, chairman and CEO of The Bostwick-Braun Co., was honored with a Lifetime of Achievement award on Nov. 3 by the PRO Group at its annual Executive Planning Conference in Naples, Fla.

Bollin joined the Toledo, Ohio-based Bostwick-Braun Co. in 1970, working in the warehouse and later moving on to shipping, office support, data processing, purchasing, management and all the way to his current position as chairman.

October 28, 2011
Whirlpool posts strong third quarter

Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool Corp. posted third-quarter net earnings of $177 million, compared with net earnings of $79 million in the same period last year. Sales in the quarter were $4.6 billion, up 2% to $4.5 billion reported in the third quarter of 2010. 

October 6, 2011
Roseborough joins Home Depot's senior leadership team

The Home Depot named Teresa Wynn Roseborough executive VP, general counsel and corporate secretary. She will join the company’s senior leadership team and report to Frank Blake, chairman and CEO. 

Roseborough will be responsible for leading The Home Depot’s legal department, as well as its government relations and corporate security services functions. She will assume her new role Nov. 7. 

August 31, 2011
Lowe’s: ‘Not pleased’ and not standing still

Lowe’s second-quarter financial report was a disappointment to the company’s executives, who made no excuses for the retailer’s poor showing. Earnings were down slightly, revenues grew by only 1.3%, and comp-store sales were essentially flat. “Even after taking into account the challenges of the macro environment, we are still not pleased with our performance this year,” said chairman and CEO Robert Niblock, speaking at an analysts’ conference call on Aug. 15. 


August 29, 2011
Lowe’s rolls up its sleeves, addresses merchandising

Lowe’s second-quarter financial report was a disappointment to the company’s executives, who made no excuses for the retailer’s poor showing. Earnings were down slightly, revenues grew by only 1.3%, and comp-store sales were essentially flat. “Even after taking into account the challenges of the macro-environment, we are still not pleased with our performance this year,” said chairman and CEO Robert Niblock, speaking at an analysts’ conference call on Aug. 15.

August 18, 2011
Toro reports strong third quarter

Bloomington, Minn.-based Toro has posted third-quarter net earnings of $35.1 million, up 5% from net earnings of $33.4 million in the prior-year period.

Net sales for the quarter ended July 29 totaled $501 million, up 9% from net sales of $458.9 million in the third quarter of 2010.

August 11, 2011
Topic of CEO conversation: The weather

The weather is always a popular topic in discussions of retail performance, but it seems this recent quarter has produced a storm of exceptionally intense meteorological commentary.

The following are just some of the examples of CEOs talking about the weather taken from news reports of the past several days:

August 8, 2011
Up against bad weather, Scotts stumbles in Q3

The challenges from unfriendly weather hit Scotts Miracle-Gro hard in the quarter ended July 2, as sales declined 10% to $1.06 billion.

The decline was driven primarily by poor weather across most of the United States throughout the duration of the lawn and garden season, as well as a more competitive promotional landscape and changes in certain retailer strategies within the mass merchandise channel, the Marysville, Ohio-based company said. 

June 30, 2011
“Can you repeat the questions?”

The question-and-answer session is often the most entertaining segment of a shareholders meeting. Case in point, Home Depot’s June 2 meeting brought a half hour of free-wheeling comments from the floor. Below are just some of the questions (abbreviated and paraphrased) and actual excerpts from chairman and CEO Frank Blake’s always-polite responses. 


Question: Why do you continue to sell glue traps?


Frank Blake: “One of the things we try to do is provide our customers with a number of different alternatives.” 


June 9, 2011
International Paper makes takeover bid for Temple-Inland

Temple-Inland, one of the industry’s largest producers of wood and paper products, announced June 6 that it has received an unsolicited offer from International Paper Co. (IP), another pulp and paper giant, to acquire the company for $30.60 per Temple-Inland share in cash.

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