Lowe's Cos. Inc. (Mooresville, N.C.) has named Michael Jones as its new chief merchandising officer.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the move is seen by many as a first step in Jones becoming ceo of the housing supplies retailer. The cmo position had been vacant for nearly a year.
Jones was most recently president for North and Latin America for Husqvarna AB (Stockholm), the Swedish manufacturer of outdoor power equipment that is one of Lowe’s biggest product suppliers.
He also spent 15 years with the General Electric Co. (Fairfield, Conn.), starting in appliance contract sales and moving to positions as chief commercial officer of European consumer and industrial operations and a general manager of cooking products.
At Lowe’s, Jones will be responsible for merchandise offerings and global sourcing for the retailer’s 1750 stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He also will work closely with the leaders of customer experience design, marketing, operations and logistics.
The company made a statement saying current ceo Robert Niblock has no plans to retire “but Lowe's always wishes for its executives to advance.”