LMC president to retire

Lumbermens Merchandising Corp. (LMC), the industry’s largest lumber and building materials buying group, has announced the retirement of its longtime president and CEO, Tony DeCarlo. A 32-year veteran of the company, DeCarlo will officially retire on Dec. 31, 2009.

LMC has formed an executive search committee to identify candidates to fill his position.

DeCarlo joined LMC in 1977 as chief financial officer, a position he held until 1988, when he was appointed VP purchasing. He was elected president and CEO in 1991. During DeCarlo’s 19 years as president, LMC grew from a regional buying group to a national organization.

“After a wonderful career at LMC, I want to spend more time with my wife of 46 years and our children and granddaughters. That requires a little lighter workload than I currently have, although I plan to operate a consulting business in the future, helping businesses to succeed,” DeCarlo said in a prepared statement.

Founded in 1935 by 35 lumberyard owners in southeastern Pennsylvania, LMC now serves 350 independently owned LBM dealers who operate 1,200 locations in every state in the continental United States and the Bahamas. The Wayne, Pa.-based company ranked fifth on HCN’s Top 150 Distributors, with $3.2 billion in annual sales.