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Ace Hardware Appoints New Leadership

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Ace Hardware Corporation has hired Rick Affolter to serve as vice president of finance and has promoted Rick Whitson to vice president of retail support.

Affolter, 54, will be responsible for day-to-day operations of Ace’s finance department and will oversee the company’s controller, tax director and director of financial planning and analysis. He joins Ace from HD Supply Inc., a wholesale distributor of construction and maintenance products, which The Home Depot sold in 2007 and where he served as a director of finance. Affolter will report to Ace’s Chief Financial Officer Dorvin Lively.

Whitson, 55, is a 29-year veteran of Ace. In his new role, he will direct activities at Ace’s 14 retail distribution support centers and six cross dock facilities. Most recently, Whitson served as director of retail support and engineering, for which he will continue to provide leadership.

Throughout Whitson’s career at Ace, where he started as a warehouse supervisor, he has participated in the initial start-up of three major distribution centers and directed retail support in the Midwest region.

In addition to Whitson’s promotion, there are two other changes to Ace’s retail support leadership team.

Tim Rignell, 55, who most recently served as retail support manager, has been promoted to director of retail support for the Midwest region.

Scott Zirlin, 60, director of retail support for the Northeast region, will assume responsibility for overseeing the Toledo, Ohio, distribution center and the cross dock located in Cleveland in addition to facilities in New York, Virginia and Maryland he already leads. 

With 4,600 hardware, home center and building materials stores that generate annual retail sales of more than $12 billion, Ace is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the industry. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace currently operates 14 distribution centers in the U.S. and one in Shanghai, China, with retail stores in all 50 states and 60 countries. For more information, visit www.acehardware.com.