Craig Menear did not arrive at The Home Depot as an outside chief executive. His route to the top ran through the work of retail itself: merchandising, sourcing, supply chain, online operations, marketing, and eventually U.S. store operations.
By the time he became CEO in 2014, Menear had spent 17 years inside Home Depot. Each step had widened his responsibilities, turning a merchandising career into broader operating leadership.
That progression placed him at the center of Home Depot’s push to connect stores, digital shopping, delivery, supply chain, and professional customers. His CEO years would also bring the aftermath of a major data breach, the COVID-19 operating crisis, an approximately $8 billion acquisition, and a planned transition to his successor.
A Quick Look at the Life of Craig Menear
Biography Summary
Craig A. Menear is a retired American retail executive best known for serving as chairman and chief executive officer of The Home Depot. He began his post-college career at Montgomery Ward, joined Home Depot in 1997, became CEO in November 2014, and added the chairman role in February 2015. He retired from the company and its board in September 2022.
Profile
Full Name: Craig A. Menear
Education: Bachelor of Arts, Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business, 1979
Best Known For: Former chairman and CEO of The Home Depot
Company: The Home Depot
Major Roles: Executive Vice President — Merchandising; President, U.S. Retail; CEO and president; chairman
Major Honors: Michigan State University Distinguished Alumni Award; honorary Doctor of Business degree from Michigan State University; 2025 Georgia Trustee
From Flint Roots to a Career in Retail
Menear grew up in Flint, Michigan, as the son of a General Motors tool-and-die maker. As a child, he ran a neighborhood lawn-care business and used his savings to buy his first car.
He attended Michigan State University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Eli Broad College of Business in 1979. Menear later recalled that math and statistics were difficult for him in college, and he described the university as an important economic opportunity in his life.
After graduation, he began his retail career at Montgomery Ward. Before joining Home Depot, Menear also held merchandising roles with IKEA, Builders Emporium, and Grace Home Centers, and he operated an independent retail business.
Those early jobs established the merchandising foundation that would carry into his Home Depot career.
Joining Home Depot and Moving Up Through Merchandising
Menear joined The Home Depot in 1997 as a merchandising manager in the Southwest Division. Over the next several years, he moved through management and vice-president-level merchandising positions, including responsibilities in the Southwest Division and hardware.
By 2003, Menear had moved into senior vice president-level merchandising leadership. In 2007, he became Executive Vice President — Merchandising.
His responsibilities continued to broaden beyond product selection. Home Depot later described his experience as spanning merchandising, supply chain, vendor management, e-commerce, marketing, operations, and organizational development.
That widening scope became the bridge from merchant to enterprise leader. Menear’s work increasingly touched the systems connecting products, vendors, stores, customers, and distribution.
From Merchandising Leader to U.S. Retail President
In February 2014, Home Depot named Menear President, U.S. Retail. The appointment added responsibility for U.S. store operations to areas he was already overseeing, including merchandising, supply chain, sourcing, vendor management, marketing, and online operations.
The role marked a clear shift in scale. Menear’s career had been rooted in merchandising, but the U.S. retail presidency placed store operations alongside the commercial and supply-chain functions already under his responsibility.
Home Depot announced in August 2014 that Menear would become CEO and president effective November 1. He was also elected to the company’s board.
At the time, Home Depot described him as a 34-year retail veteran and highlighted his experience in product innovation, supply chain, online business, private brands, marketing, and global sourcing.
Taking the CEO Role During the Data-Breach Aftermath
Menear became CEO and president on November 1, 2014, while Home Depot was still dealing with the consequences of a major payment-system data breach confirmed in September.
The breach predated his CEO tenure. Home Depot said malware had been present from April through September 2014 and that payment-card information connected with approximately 56 million unique cards had been placed at risk. Days after Menear became CEO, the company also reported that approximately 53 million email addresses had been taken.
Menear therefore inherited the breach’s aftermath rather than the period in which the intrusion began.
In February 2015, Home Depot’s board elected him chairman, succeeding Frank Blake. The company said Menear was the first merchant to hold both the chairman and CEO roles since co-founder Bernie Marcus.
Building Toward One Home Depot
The defining strategic theme of Menear’s CEO years was Home Depot’s effort to connect physical stores with digital shopping, delivery, supply chain, and service for professional customers.
Menear had already been responsible for the company’s growing online business and supply-chain efforts before becoming CEO, so Home Depot’s interconnected-retail work did not begin with his appointment. What changed was the scale and pace of investment.
In December 2017, Home Depot announced an accelerated multi-year investment plan designed to position the company as “One Home Depot.” The program covered stores, associates, the interconnected customer experience, supply chain, and delivery capabilities.
Menear summarized the pressure behind the strategy in direct terms: “The retail landscape is changing at unprecedented rates and we plan to invest for the future.”
By 2019, Home Depot was reporting progress in store enhancements, e-commerce tools, delivery capabilities, and a broader ecosystem for professional customers. The strategy treated stores and digital commerce less as separate channels and more as parts of one customer experience.
The scale of the company also changed considerably during Menear’s tenure. Home Depot reported fiscal 2014 sales of $83.2 billion. In fiscal 2021, his final full fiscal year as CEO, the company reported sales of $151.2 billion and net earnings of $16.4 billion.
Those results reflected more than one executive. Housing trends, pandemic-era demand, company-wide investments, and the work of the broader organization also shaped Home Depot’s performance.
Leading Through the COVID-19 Operating Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic created a different kind of challenge for Home Depot in 2020. The company temporarily shortened store hours, limited customer traffic, canceled traffic-driving events, expanded paid time off and other benefits, and incurred approximately $850 million in pre-tax expense for expanded associate benefits during the first quarter.
Menear publicly framed the priorities around the safety and well-being of associates and customers while continuing to provide products to customers and communities.
The operating pressure also increased the importance of capabilities Home Depot had already been building. In a 2021 discussion at Georgia Tech, Menear addressed the company’s pandemic response, accelerated digital shopping, supply-chain difficulties, and the use of multiple U.S. ports to improve merchandise flow.
Home Depot reported fiscal 2020 sales of $132.1 billion, an increase of $21.9 billion from fiscal 2019, during a period of unusually strong home-improvement demand.
In November 2020, the company announced that it would move from temporary pandemic bonuses to approximately $1 billion in annualized permanent compensation enhancements for frontline hourly associates.
Menear was the CEO during these changes, but the operating actions and results belonged to Home Depot as an organization.
HD Supply and a Bigger Bet on Professional Customers
Late in 2020, Home Depot made another major strategic move. On December 24, the company completed its acquisition of HD Supply Holdings for an enterprise value of approximately $8 billion.
Home Depot positioned the acquisition as a way to strengthen its maintenance, repair, and operations offering for professional customers in a fragmented market. Menear said the combination would improve the company’s ability to serve both existing and new MRO customers.
The acquisition fit the broader direction of Home Depot’s investment strategy: expanding capabilities for professional customers beyond the traditional do-it-yourself store transaction.
A Leadership Style Rooted in the Work
Menear’s public comments about his career emphasized work, learning, and the contributions of other people rather than a single breakthrough moment.
In a Michigan State profile, he credited hard work and people who were willing to invest in his development. His advice was similarly practical: “I tried to always focus on the job at hand.”
In a later Georgia Tech discussion, Menear emphasized continued learning, focusing on what teams accomplish rather than oneself, and bringing a competitive approach to business.
Those comments match the shape of his career. Menear reached Home Depot’s top role after years of increasingly broad responsibility inside the company rather than by arriving from another chief-executive position.
Succession and the End of the Home Depot Chapter
The transition to Menear’s successor unfolded in stages. In October 2020, Ted Decker became president and chief operating officer while Menear remained chairman and CEO.
In January 2022, Home Depot announced that Decker would become CEO and president effective March 1. Menear remained chair of the board after stepping down as CEO.
Home Depot completed the leadership transition later that year. Decker was set to become chair effective October 1, and Menear retired as chair on September 30.
Menear retired from both the board and the company on September 30, 2022, closing the Home Depot career he had begun in 1997.
Michigan State, Civic Work, and Recognition
Menear maintained strong ties to Michigan State University. In 2015, the university reported that he made a $500,000 gift to the Eli Broad College of Business to support a planned Graduate Pavilion.
Michigan State honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017 and awarded him an honorary Doctor of Business degree in 2021.
After retiring from Home Depot, Menear continued civic and education-related board service. As of September 30, 2026, institutional sources listed service connected with Camp Southern Ground, Junior Achievement’s 3DE initiative, and Junior Achievement USA.
In 2025, Menear was inducted as a Georgia Trustee, an honor administered by the Georgia Historical Society with the Office of the Governor.
A Career Defined by Expanding Responsibility
Craig Menear’s Home Depot career followed a steady expansion of scope. He entered the company in a divisional merchandising role, moved into senior merchandising leadership, added supply chain and digital responsibilities, took charge of U.S. retail operations, and eventually became CEO and chairman.
His years at the top coincided with Home Depot’s effort to link stores, digital commerce, delivery, supply chain, and professional-customer capabilities into a more connected retail model. They also included unusual operating pressure, especially during the COVID-19 period.
Menear’s Home Depot chapter ended in 2022. His later board service and civic recognition extended his public involvement beyond the company where he had spent much of his retail career.
Timeline
This timeline highlights major milestones in Craig Menear’s career and later public service.
1979
Earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business and began his post-college retail career at Montgomery Ward.
1997
Joined The Home Depot as a merchandising manager in the Southwest Division.
2003–2007
Moved into senior merchandising leadership and became Executive Vice President — Merchandising in 2007.
February 2014
Named President, U.S. Retail, adding direct responsibility for U.S. store operations.
November 2014
Became CEO and president of The Home Depot.
February 2015
Became chairman of The Home Depot.
2017–2019
Home Depot accelerated the One Home Depot investment strategy connecting stores, digital commerce, supply chain, delivery, associates, and professional-customer capabilities.
2020
Led as CEO during the COVID-19 operating crisis. Home Depot changed store operations, expanded associate benefits, and experienced unusually strong home-improvement demand.
December 24, 2020
Home Depot completed its acquisition of HD Supply for an enterprise value of approximately $8 billion.
2021
Michigan State University awarded Menear an honorary Doctor of Business degree.
March 1, 2022
Ted Decker became CEO and president. Menear remained chair of the board.
September 30, 2022
Retired from The Home Depot board and company.
2025
Inducted as a Georgia Trustee.
FAQs
Question: Was Craig Menear a founder of Home Depot?
Answer: No. Home Depot was founded in 1978, and Craig Menear joined the company in 1997 as a merchandising manager in the Southwest Division.
Question: How long was Craig Menear CEO of Home Depot?
Answer: Craig Menear became CEO and president on November 1, 2014. Ted Decker succeeded him as CEO and president on March 1, 2022, while Menear remained chair until his retirement later that year.
Question: What did Craig Menear do before becoming CEO?
Answer: Craig Menear built his career in retail merchandising. Before Home Depot, he worked with Montgomery Ward, IKEA, Builders Emporium, and Grace Home Centers and operated an independent retail business. At Home Depot, he rose through merchandising leadership and became President, U.S. Retail before becoming CEO.
Question: What was One Home Depot?
Answer: One Home Depot was an accelerated investment strategy designed to create a more interconnected customer experience across stores, digital channels, delivery, supply chain, associates, and professional-customer capabilities.
Question: Did the 2014 Home Depot data breach happen under Craig Menear as CEO?
Answer: No. Home Depot confirmed the breach in September 2014, before Craig Menear became CEO on November 1. He took over while the company was still dealing with the investigation, remediation, and aftermath.
Question: What happened after Craig Menear stepped down as CEO?
Answer: Craig Menear remained chair after Ted Decker became CEO in March 2022. Menear retired from Home Depot’s board and company on September 30, 2022, and later continued civic and education-related board service.
Interviews
A Love for Retail and Customer Service
This episode of The Home Depot’s “Give Me An H” podcast offers a retrospective conversation with Craig Menear as he prepared to hand over the CEO role in 2022. It gives readers firsthand perspective on retail, customer service, and the career that led to Home Depot’s top job.
Investing in the Future of Retail
This Home Depot interview resource points to Menear’s discussion with Bloomberg Daybreak about investing in retail’s future. The conversation covers associates, supply-chain flexibility, technology, and strategic changes affecting the retail business.
Retail Operations With Marketplace
This conversation with Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal provides firsthand context on Menear’s perspective on retail operations and executive leadership. It complements the career and strategy sections of the biography.
Sources
- Michigan State University: Taking Care of Business, MSU Alumni Grand Awards, Honorary Degree Recipients
- The Home Depot: Menear Named President, U.S. Retail, Menear Named CEO, Menear Named Chairman, One Home Depot Investment Update, One Home Depot Strategy Progress, First Quarter 2020 Results, Third Quarter 2020 Results and Compensation Enhancements, HD Supply Acquisition, Fiscal 2020 Results, Fiscal 2021 Results, Ted Decker Named CEO, Ted Decker Named Chair, Company History, 2014 Payment Data Breach Update, 2014 Breach Investigation Findings
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / The Home Depot: 2021 Proxy Statement, Fiscal 2014 Form 10-K, 2023 Proxy Statement
- Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business: Dean Alavi Hosts Craig Menear
- Georgia Historical Society: Craig Menear, Georgia Trustee Biography
- Junior Achievement USA: Board of Directors