White Cap Breaks New Ground - HD Supply

FEATUREDDISTRIBUTORby Tom Hammel“The key is having significantrelevant experience to the industryyou are in,” observes Stegeman,White Cap’s president. “It gives youinstincts and an understanding of thecustomer.“Another element that makes oursenior team very exciting is individualslike Bob Jacoby, our senior vicepresident for the Southwest region;Brian Bilderback, our Gulf regionalvice president; and J.J. Jackson, ourNorthwest regional vice president.”“All three of these senior teamThe sales counterof the greaterChicago branch facesthe street. Lightingis not an issue —the showroom haswindow walls on threesides. Customers canpark and enter theshowroom from eitherend of the store.members were with White Cap andits acquisitions before White Capwas acquired,” Stegeman adds.“It’s great to be able to combinethe experience of people fromWhite Cap with that of people fromFerguson, MSC, Grainger, The HomeDepot and General Electric,” hecontinues.Each HD Supply vice presidentalso has a personal ownership stakein HD Supply, a concrete statementof their commitment to the company’slong-term success.BENCH BUILDINGGetting a great leadership teamin place is part of the equation, butcoaching doesn’t gain you manyyards without great players on thefield. White Cap and HD Supply aredetermined to build a strong bench.“As of June 2012, White Cap had2,671 employees and we are hiringmore,” Stegeman says. “Through thedownturn, many companies stoppedhiring. You held on to your best.”“Now we are back in the hiringmode. Some come from competitors,some from other areas ofindustry, but we aren’t completelyfocusing on building our bench fromnew hires. We are also strengtheningthe bench of associates we have,with significant career developmenttraining.”www.ContractorSupplyMagazine.com AUG | SEP 201222