On Ace Hardware's board, a Few changes

Oak Brook, Illinois-based Ace Hardware Corp., made some changes to its Board of Directors. The co-op said goodbye to two members whose terms expired, and welcomed Karen May, from Kraft Foods, as a new non-member director.

The moves were cemented at the co-op’s June 6 annual meeting.

May is executive VP and chief human resources officer of Mondelēz International, Inc. (formerly Kraft Foods, Inc.). Prior to joining Kraft Foods, she held a variety of executive leadership positions, including chief human resources officer of Baxter International and a number of executive finance and accounting positions. She also gained experience in corporate audit during her 10 years at Price Waterhouse (now PWC).

May will serve as Chair of the Ace Hardware Audit committee and as a member of the Compensation and Human Resources committee.

“We are pleased to welcome Karen May to the Ace Hardware Board of Directors,” said James Ackroyd, chairman of the board, Ace Hardware Corporation. “Karen’s diverse business background and depth of financial accounting acumen make her an ideal addition to our Board. We look forward to learning from her expertise.”

In addition to the appointment of new non-member director Karen May, Ace Hardware shareholders re-elected Chairman James Ackroyd, member director David Karsten and member director Mark Schulein to the Ace Hardware Board of Directors.

Ackroyd has served the Ace Hardware Board of Directors as Chairman of the Board since 2014, he also sits on the Audit and Retail Supply Chain committees. He is the CEO of Vision Ace Hardware LLC, a 14-store chain in Southwest Florida.

Karsten serves the Ace Hardware Board of Directors as Chairman of the Finance committee and sits on the Compensation and Human Resources committee, as well as the Nominating and Governance committee. He is president and CEO of Karsten’s Ace Hardware, a four-store chain in Arizona.

Mark Schulein sits on the Audit and Retail Supply Chain Committees. He is president of Crown Ace Hardware, a 16-store chain in Southern California and Arizona.

After serving the maximum term on the board, Gina Schaefer and Jeffrey Girard stepped down as directors.