Oak Brook, Ill.,
08
June
2016
|
07:30 AM
America/Chicago

Ace Hardware announces new board member and board re-elections

Ace Hardware announces updates to its board of directors following company’s annual meeting

Ace Hardware Corporation, the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world, announced changes to its board of directors today following its 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

The Ace Hardware board of directors, which sets strategic policy and direction for Ace management, is comprised of a total of 11 individuals; nine of whom are Ace retail store owners (or member directors) and two who are external business professionals (or non-member directors).

Following the co-op’s June 7 shareholders meeting, Ace Hardware stockholders elected member-director Kristin Grunder to her first term on its board of directors. Grunder, 44, is the president and co-owner of Rome Ace Hardware, a single Ace store located in Rome, N. Y. Grunder currently serves on numerous Ace Hardware committees, including an input team that influences decisions surrounding Ace’s paint business; she also serves as an Ace Retail Group Leader. Grunder serves on the board of directors of the Rome Hospital Foundation and as a member of the board of trustees of the Jervis Library. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Ithaca College.

Member director Amy Kaplanis was re-elected to her second term on the Ace Hardware board of directors. Kaplanis, 46, is owner and president of Country Ace Hardware in Granby, Colo. Prior to becoming affiliated with Ace Hardware, Kaplanis worked for Accenture in its Consulting and Services practices for nearly 10 years. Additionally, she worked for Black & Decker for six years. Kaplanis serves on numerous committees, including an input team that influences corporate communications at Ace. Kaplanis holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from George Washington University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Denver.

Member director Stewart Elliott, Jr., was also re-elected to his second term on the Ace Hardware board of directors. Elliott, 58, is president of Elliott Ace Hardware, a four-store Ace chain located in the western suburbs of Milwaukee, a position he has held since 1988. Prior to returning to the family business, Elliott held a leadership sales role with Amerock, a vendor serving the convenience hardware industry, for six years. Elliott holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Michigan.

 

# # # 

 

About Ace Hardware

For more than 90 years, Ace Hardware has been known as the place with the helpful hardware folks in thousands of neighborhoods across America, providing customers with a more personal kind of helpful. In 2016, Ace ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores, Ten Years in a Row," according to J.D. Power. With more than 4,800 hardware stores locally owned and operated across the globe, Ace is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace and its subsidiaries currently operate 17 distribution centers in the U.S. and also have distribution capabilities in Ningbo, China; Colon, Panama; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Its retailers' stores are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and approximately 60 countries. For more information on Ace, visit www.acehardware.com.