Westlake Ace Hardware names COO

Lenexa, Kan.-based Westlake Hardware has announced the appointment of Rob Easley to the newly created position of chief operating officer.

Easley will be responsible for the operations of the company’s 89 retail locations, as well as marketing functions, field human resources and talent development. He will report directly to company president and CEO George Smith.

“A solid management team is critical to executing our business strategy, and Rob brings to Westlake a wealth of experience in operations, marketing, change management and process improvement,” said Smith. “We are fortunate to have someone of Rob’s caliber join our team at Westlake Hardware.”

Previously, Easley served as COO of Rite Aide and held several senior level operations positions with San Antonio-based grocery chain H.E. Butt.

Westlake Ace Hardware is the largest retail chain within the Ace Hardware system, with $250 million in sales last year. They were recently ranked 45th on HCN's Top 500 Scoreboard of home channel retailers.