Content about Management

More hiring has yet to lead to more pay. While U.S. unemployment fell from 10% in October 2009 to 8.3% in August 2012, it has not been enough to boost salary budget increases and, subsequently, employee wages, according to WorldatWork, an association of total rewards professionals.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidance on criminal background checks in hiring issued in April was necessary to update guidance last issued more than 20 years ago, according to former commission vice chair Leslie Silverman, now a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP in Washington, D.C.

Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe’s has appointed Dollar General CEO Richard Dreiling, 58, to the home improvement giant's board of directors.

Dreiling will serve on the board’s audit and governance committees. The addition brings Lowe’s board of directors to 12 members, 11 of who are independent. 

After a series of talks, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has agreed to give Relational Investors, the activist investment firm, an option to appoint its co-founder to ITW’s board of directors.

Based in San Diego, Relational Investors typically buys stocks in companies it wants a role in managing, including a seat on the board of directors. Proposals often include change in executive compensation salaries and a boost in shareholder values. 

ProBuild Holdings has announced the appointment of Robert Marchbank, the former CEO of European operations for Wolseley, as its new CEO.  Fred Marino, who had filled the role of interim CEO for the past several months, will continue to serve as vice chairman of the company’s board of directors.

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."

ABC Supply, the nation’s largest distributor of roofing, has promoted Mike Boggs to director of operations, a newly created position. In his new role, Boggs is responsible for championing, developing and implementing critical operational initiatives, including continued improvement of the company’s Customer Service Delivery System (CSDS), inventory management, fleet optimization, outside sales management, response to storms, and the leveraging of technology to enhance internal service quality and customer service. 

San Diego-based HD Supply Facilities Maintenance announced the opening of its newest distribution center in Jacksonville, Fla. 

The new DC is the 39th in the company’s operations network in North America. The company also operates a DC in Lakeland, Fla. HD Supply Facilities Maintenance is a leading distributor of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products.

“The location of our newest distribution center will allow us to better service the area," said Anesa Chaibi, president and CEO of HD Supply Facilities Maintenance. 

Sears Holdings announced that former UPS executive Raj Penkar is joining the company as SVP and president of the company's supply chain.

In his new role, Penkar will be accountable for all aspects of the company's supply chain, including logistics, warehousing, inventory management and distribution. Prior to joining Sears, Penkar worked at UPS for 24 years and most recently served as president of UPS' customer solutions division. 

On July 11, Greatwide Logistics Services announced the selection of John P. Tague as its new CEO. Mr. Tague comes to the new position after eight years with United Airlines, where he served as President as well as other senior leadership positions including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Revenue Officer. 

“The concept of consistent, incremental improvement applies to just about everything we do,” said Ron Beal, the CEO of Memphis, Tenn.-based distributor Orgill.


In that sentence, Beal captured the essence of the distributor’s spirit of improvement. There’s no single hero, no silver bullet and no rainmaker. Instead, Beal describes an environment of measuring, benchmarking and improving. And the results were impressive in 2010, a difficult year for home products. Orgill posted 2010 sales of $1.179 billion, up 9.3% over $1.079 billion in the prior year. 


Shoplifting, employee theft and organized crime have combined to boost retail shrinkage to 1.58%, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). These preliminary results, compiled from a survey conducted by Dr. Richard Hollinger of the University of Florida, compare with a 1.44% shrinkage rate in 2009.

According to the survey, total retail losses cost retailers $37.1 billion last year, up from $33.5 billion in 2009. NRF’s recently released Organized Retail Crime survey found that 95% of retailers have been victims of organized retail crime over the last 12 months.