Do it Best adds VP to lead True Value integration
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Fort Wayne-based Do it Best Group has hired the former chief commercial officer of Canadian home improvement retailer Home Hardware Stores Limited as the Fort Wayne cooperative’s first executive vice president of transformation and integration.
Marianne Thompson assumes the role created to lead the next phase of integration for True Value and United Hardware into the Do it Best organization.
The company said in a news release that Thompson has more than 35 years of industry experience, including the past five at Home Hardware Stores Ltd., one of Canada’s largest independent home improvement retailers.
“This new role reinforces our commitment to leveraging everything we’ve built—our scale, our partnerships, and our relentless focus on independent dealers—to drive growth for our members and retailers and for the co-op,” Dan Starr, CEO of Do it Best and True Value, said. “Thompson’s extensive leadership and integration experience will ensure that we don’t just merge operations—we unlock our fullest potential.”
Do it Best Corp. acquired True Value Co. LLC in a nearly $200 million deal in November. The acquisition, following True Value’s voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, brought more than 4,500 independently owned hardware retailers under the Do it Best umbrella, including stores in more than two dozen Indiana communities.
Earlier last year, Do It Best Corp. announced a merger with United Hardware, a wholesale hardware distributor based in Maple Grove, Minnesota. At the time, United Hardware served more than 700 independent hardware retailers in 16 states in the Upper Midwest.
Prior to working at Home Hardware Stores Limited, where she held other executive roles before being named chief commercial officer, Thompson held executive roles at door and window manufacturer Jeld-Wen Inc. and at Alexandria Moulding, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“I am honored to take on this critical role during such an exciting time of transformation, integration, and growth at Do it Best Group,” Thompson said in the release. “Together, we will create a seamless, high-performing organization built around the needs of our dealers and positioned for long-term success.”
Do it Best Group is the world’s largest hardware, lumber and building materials buying cooperative in the home improvement industry with thousands of independently-owned locations across the United States and in more than 60 countries worldwide.