Do it Best Corp.’s VP of IT to Retire

Mike Altendorf

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Fort Wayne-based Do it Best Corp. has announced Vice President of Information Technology Mike Altendorf is retiring. He has spent more than 30 years in the independent home improvement industry. Altendorf’s retirement is effective August 10. He joined the company in 2009 as director of IT business planning and architecture and was appointed vice president of IT seven months later. As VP of IT, Altendorf has overseen all IT-related programs, including setting the division’s strategic planning, as well as leadership of all Application Development, Project Management, EDI Services, Support, Infrastructure, Networking and Operations.

His contributions to the co-op also include establishing a business intelligence platform, many new operational systems, and numerous upgrades to both software and hardware systems. This was accomplished with a strong focus on business value and alignment. Altendorf is especially proud of his team and enjoyed contributing to their growth. One example was the creation of Techapalooza, the co-op’s annual in-house, week-long technology conference that draws respected industry leaders and speakers from across the country.

Prior to joining Do it Best Corp., Altendorf served for more than 20 years at Ace Hardware, including five years as its vice president of IT. His first job as a high school student was at a lumberyard and hardware store in his native Chicago, where he worked for 10 years.

Altendorf has served on the faculty at Northern Illinois University prior to relocating to Fort Wayne, where he continues to serve on a professional advisory board for the department of computer science at Purdue University Fort Wayne and the industry advisory board for computer science at the University of Saint Francis; he is also a member of the board of advisors for Carmel-based Eleven Fifty Academy, a nonprofit organization focused on computer-programming training. Altendorf recently completed his term as board chair with the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center. He also serves on the Parkview Health System Foundation board and has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana for several years.