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Home Depot CEO Ted Decker takes medical leave of absence
He's expected to return within months
Ted Decker was named CEO in 2022. (The Home Depot)
Key Takeaways:
- Home Depot CEO Ted Decker is taking a temporary medical leave, with Ann-Marie Campbell and CFO Richard McPhail assuming key leadership duties.
- Decker, who became CEO in 2022, has led the retailer through a prolonged housing-market slowdown that has weighed on home-improvement spending.
- Home Depot expects Decker to return within months and is scheduled to report quarterly earnings Aug. 18.
Home Depot Inc. CEO Ted Decker will take a temporary medical leave of absence, with two longtime executives stepping up to steer the retailer through a lackluster housing market.
Ann-Marie Campbell, senior executive vice president, will oversee day-to-day operations, and Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail will lead financial management and the company’s subsidiaries involving professional contractors. Decker is expected to return “within the next few months,” the company said in a statement.
Independent lead director Greg Brenneman will chair the board. A Home Depot spokeswoman declined to comment further.
Decker, 63, addressed Home Depot employees in a memo sent Aug. 12 that was viewed by Bloomberg News. He told staff he decided to take leave in partnership with his doctors and noted he has worked with Campbell and McPhail for more than 20 years.
“We’re in very good hands,” he wrote, adding that the company has the right strategy in place to grow share in any market.
Decker has spent more than two decades at the company, moving up through the ranks before becoming CEO in 2022. He has led Home Depot through the ongoing slowdown of the U.S. housing market following a pandemic-fueled boom. High borrowing costs have prompted Americans to limit their spending on home-improvement projects over the past three years, which has cut into the company’s sales growth.
At the same time, the Atlanta-based company has focused on expanding its business catering to professional contractors, and its parking lots became hot spots for immigration raids last year as the Trump administration ramped up its deportation efforts.
Home Depot shares have risen 3% so far this year through the Aug. 11 close, trailing the 13% gain in the S&P 500 Index.
The company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Aug. 18.
Home Depot ranks No. 54 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
