Edward “Ted” Decker, who is currently the Chief Operating Officer of The Home Depot, will become its next CEO, effective March 1, 2022. He was also elected to the company’s board of directors.

Craig Menear, who is currently CEO, will maintain his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

“As a 22-year associate of The Home Depot, Ted has nurtured our culture by living our values and demonstrating servant leadership throughout his career,” said Menear for the company’s news release about the promotion of Decker. “Ted has grown with the company by taking on expanded roles of leadership from his time in Strategic Business Development, Finance and Merchandising to leading our day-to-day interconnected operations in his role as President and COO. His ability to blend the art and science of retail is exactly what is needed in the next phase of growth for The Home Depot. I have tremendous confidence that he will guide our company to new heights.”

The Home Depot, an international home improvement retail corporate giant, is headquartered here in Cobb County.

Decker started atThe Home Depot in 2000 and became president and chief operating officer (COO) in October 2020. Before becoming COO he was the executive vice president of merchandising for the company.

He worked at Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Scott Paper Company before starting at the Home Depot.

His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in business administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

“On behalf of the board, I want to thank Craig for his exceptional leadership over the last seven years,” said Greg Brenneman, the board’s lead director for the news release. “Among Craig’s many accomplishments, he has built a world-class leadership team, driven a bold strategic vision focused on the interconnected retail experience, and delivered outstanding results for our shareholders – all while fostering The Home Depot’s unique, values-driven culture. We are fortunate to have a strong successor in Ted and look forward to working with him and the entire Home Depot management team as the business enters its next phase of growth.”

About The Home Depot

The Home Depot was founded in 1978 after co-founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank were fired from the Handy Andy home improvement chain in southern California.

They decided to go into business together and opened three stores in Atlanta.

According to company promotional materials:

The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. The Company operates a total of 2,298 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2020, The Home Depot had sales of $132.1 billion and earnings of $12.9 billion. The Company employs approximately 500,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.