People News

Acme Lift Co. has a new senior executive -- Mike Crouch, most recently Volvo Rents' VP business development, is assuming the role of president and COO.

Spahn & Rose Lumber Co. President and CEO John Hannan will retire early next year.

Hannan’s retirement caps a successful 25-year career at Spahn & Rose, during which he’s been a key driver in the company’s continued growth. Hannan was named VP of the company two years after joining in 1991 and has served as president and CEO since 2004. In addition, Hannan has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 2001.

Last week, HBSDealer reported on the resignation of Ronald Boire from his post as president and CEO of Sears Canada.

The U.S. opportunity he left to pursue turns out to be a plum gig as CEO of Barnes & Noble's Retail business.

Effective Sept. 8, Boire will step up to the helm of the bookselling company, bringing previous experience in consumer electronics from his time at Best Buy and Sony to the table.

Blount International, Inc. has promoted David Gillrie to the position of SVP global sales & marketing for the Forestry, Lawn and Garden (FLAG) division.

Gillrie previously served as president of Blount's Concrete Cutting and Finishing division and has been with the company since 2012.

A popular Boys & Girls Club in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood is welcoming a five-year, $1.5 million grant from True Value.

To celebrate the move, the club, community members and some 100 volunteers from around the country, came together just before the True Value Chicago Reunion to make building improvements and participate in a ribbon cutting. The volunteers were retailers, suppliers and employees of True Value Company.

Do it Best's executive team weighed in on some pre-market story lines heading into the co-op's May Market in Indianapolis, including a major anniversary, buy-one-get-ones and e-commerce initiatives.

The market kicks off Friday with merchandising updates and a deep-discount Sneak Peek sales event at the Indiana Convention Center. The event runs through Monday.

Here is the interview, conducted via email, with the co-op's Rich Lynch, VP marketing and Steve Markley, VP merchandise.

Central Garden & Pet Company has named a new chief financial officer from within its ranks.

Nicholas "Niko" Lahanas, who was worked with the company for over 10 years, will now assume the role of CFO.

During his time with the company, Lahanas held a variety of finance positions, most recently as SVP Finance, Operations Management & Reporting and CFO of Central’s Pet Segment.

His tenure also included serving as VP of Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis, and Director of Business Performance, focusing on business unit profitability.

Central Garden & Pet Company has made a couple executive appointments. Effective immediately, J.D. Walker has been tapped to lead the Garden segment, with Dan Pennington leading the wild bird and private label business. Both will report to EVP Michael Reed.