Boucherville, Que. – RONA Inc., Canada’s largest home improvement retailer, has made some changes in its executive ranks. The company has appointed Dave Carr to the position of Vice-President, Retail, for Western Canada, and Francois Hardy has been appointed to the position of Vice-President, Dealer-Owner Network Development.
Dave Carr’s appointment comes just after that of Luc Rodier to the position of Executive Vice-President, Retail. Mr. Carr will report to Mr. Rodier in the same way as the other regional vice-presidents for retail: Mario St-Louis (Quebec), Benoît Leduc (Ontario) and Gordon Kennedy (Atlantic Provinces). After beginning as an employee of a TOTEM lumberyard in 1992, Dave Carr quickly climbed the ranks to become assistant manager, then store manager. After managing several stores in Alberta, Dave became a regional manager, then general manager, and finally Vice-President of TOTEM in 2008, three years after RONA’s acquisition of the company. Carr will oversee 74 RONA corporate and TOTEM stores as well as 55 affiliate stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“Dave has a keen understanding of the retail landscape in Western Canada, a territory where markets differ greatly from one province to another and within each province,” said Luc Rodier. “He has solid experience in home renovation and hardware and understands the workings of our new retail structure, which is unique in our industry.”
François Hardy took office on January 16 and reports directly to Robert Dutton, RONA’s President and CEO. He will assist in the development of RONA’s existing dealer-owner network and be responsible for recruiting new dealer-owners. Mr. Hardy holds an MBA and his professional background has centred on strategic positions in retail business development, sales and marketing in both Canada and the United States. Before joining RONA, he occupied the position of Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, at Intertrade, a business he co-founded in 2003 which specializes in developing partnerships and processes for exchanging information between suppliers and retailers.
“Mr. Hardy is an enthusiastic man with a very strong entrepreneurial drive who seeks to put his skills to work for the benefit of our company,” said Mr. Dutton. He added that the appointment offers the major advantage of helping RONA strengthen its recruitment efforts and, consequently, its network of affiliated dealers.