Ace Hardware announces new board members and director re-elections after annual meeting
Ace Hardware Corporation announced changes to its Board of Directors following the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, held on May 12.
Brandi Joplin was elected as a new non-member director to her first term on the Board. Steven Burggraf, Chairman of the Board at Ace Hardware Corporation, said, “I am pleased to welcome Brandi Joplin to the Ace Hardware Board of Directors. Brandi brings a strong track record of leadership, innovation, and strategic insight that will further strengthen our Board and support Ace’s continued growth. We look forward to the valuable perspective and experience she will contribute as we continue building on Ace’s legacy of service and success.”
Joplin is a financial executive who most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Sam’s Club, a subsidiary of Walmart. Her previous roles include various leadership positions at Walmart such as Senior Vice President and Chief Audit Executive, Vice President and International Controller, and Vice President for Global Internal Audit Services in the U.S. & Canada. She has also worked as Chief Audit Executive at Alltel and senior auditor at Arthur Andersen LLP. Joplin currently serves in several board positions including America’s Car‑Mart Inc., Southern Bancorp, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation Board, and Hope Cancer Resources Finance Committee. She holds accounting degrees from the University of Arkansas.
In addition to electing Joplin, stockholders re-elected member directors David Cripe and Matt Mazzone along with non-member director Eric Lauterbach to new terms on the board.
Cripe joined the board in 2023; he is Chair of the Retail Supply Chain Committee among other roles within Whitmore Investments Inc., which operates multiple Ace Hardware stores in Illinois. Mazzone has been on the board since 2020; he is president of Mazzone Hardware Corp., running four stores in New York City with both Ace-branded locations and an independent paint store. Lauterbach joined in 2023 after serving as president and CEO at Peet’s Coffee; his background includes leadership across retail coffee operations internationally.
Outgoing non-member director Karen May completed her maximum permitted years under company bylaws. The company thanked May for her years of dedicated service.