Grainger Announces Next Step In CEO Succession Process

Jim Ryan, Chairman, President and CEO of Grainger, announced that the Board of Directors approved his nomination of DG Macpherson, currently Chief Operating Officer, to become Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors effective October 1, 2016.  This is the penultimate step in the multiyear succession process and will conclude with Macpherson taking on the Chairman role upon Ryan's retirement.  Macpherson became COO in 2015 as part of the CEO succession process and as such, no replacement COO will be named.  Ryan's transition will bring to a  close a remarkable career of nearly 36 years of continuous service and eight years as CEO. 

Macpherson holds a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.  Early in his career, he was an operations manager for Rain Bird Sprinkler Manufacturing Company and a test engineer with the U.S. Air Force.