True Value hires communications director

True Value has hired Jean Niemi, a former Home Depot communications executive, as the Chicago-based co-op’s new senior director, corporate communications. 

A veteran communications executive with more than 15 years of experience at Fortune 500 corporations and leading public relations agencies, Niemi will lead and oversee all media relations, executive engagements, employee and retailer communications, and manage the corporate communications team.

She will report directly to senior VP and chief customer officer Blake Fohl. She most recently was at Kraft Foods Group, where she was head of corporate affairs with responsibilities for external and internal communications as well as community involvement. 

Prior to that, she was at Home Depot for almost nine years, guiding the strategic communications execution for corporate positioning initiatives, including brand, executive and industry communications. She also worked across business units to develop integrated traditional and social media campaigns.

Jean also brings a wealth of agency experience to the table. She was the vice president of GCI Group of Atlanta, where she oversaw the agency’s first shelter practice specializing in all aspects of the “built environment,” developing high-level communications strategy for multiple accounts including; The Home Depot, EXPO Design Center, DuPont, Georgia Pacific, Cingular, GarageTek, and Solutia. She also worked at Hill and Knowlton and Rubenstein Public Relations. 

She holds a bachelor’s of art from St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, New York. She is affiliated with the Arthur W. Page Society Future Leaders and the Ronald McDonald House Charities.