Lowe's Appoints Chief Customer Officer

March 4, 2014

Lowe's has named Michael A. Jones as the company's chief customer officer, effective April 30.  Jones currently serves as Lowe's chief merchandising officer, overseeing the full merchandise offering for all Lowe's U.S. stores and Lowes.com, as well as all global sourcing activities.

Jones will succeed Gregory M. Bridgeford, who plans to retire after 32 years with the company. In his new role, Jones will be responsible for overseeing customer experience design, merchandising, marketing and communications and digital interfaces.

"I am confident that Mike is the right person to succeed Greg as chief customer officer.  During the past 14 months, Mike and Greg have worked closely together and have made terrific progress in further elevating and enhancing the Lowe's customer experience," said chairman, president and CEO Robert A. Niblock.  "In assuming this new role, Mike brings extensive leadership experience, expertise in key product categories relevant to the home improvement business, understanding of the need for vendor collaboration, and a clear focus on the customer.  We look forward to his further contributions to Lowe's."

Jones joined Lowe's in January 2013 with more than a decade of executive leadership experience in sales, service, product management and international business, serving with Husqvarna as president and EVP for North and Latin America from 2009 until joining the company in 2013.  Before his role at Husqvarna, Jones spent 15 years at General Electric, where his most recent role was general manager of global cooking products from 2007 to 2009.  Jones received a bachelor's degree in business administration from California Coast University in Santa Ana, California.

"At the same time, Lowe's thanks Greg for his extraordinary dedicaton to the company throughout the past three decades," added Niblock.  "As Lowe's has grown from a regional hardware chain in the 1980s to the nation's second-largest home improvement company today, Greg has been a valued member of our organization.  Two years ago, I asked Greg to delay his retirement plans and assume the role of chief customer officer to lead our efforts as we became a more customer-focused enterprise.  Greg has built a world-class team that is executing on our strategy, so that the timing is now right for Greg to pass the baton to Mike.  We wish greg all the best in his retirement."

Bridgeford was promoted to chief customer officer in 2012, after serving as EVP of business development since 2004.  Bridgeford joined Lowe's in 1982 as executive assistant to the chairman, and has served in a variety of increasingly responsible positions, including VP of corporate development, SVP of merchandising/general merchandising manager, SVP of marketing, and SVP of business improvement, and real estate, engineering and construction.  Bridgeford has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and earned an MBA from Wake Forest University.

Source: Retailing Today