New leaders to take the helm at two co-ops: Bob Taylor to succeed McClelland at Do it Best - Brief Article

Home Channel News, Dec 17, 2001 by Brae Canlen

FORT WAYNE, IND. -- After 10 years at the helm of Do it Best, Mike McClelland, president and CEO, will retire on Aug. 1, 2002. He will be succeeded by Bob Taylor, a former retailer who joined the co-op last January as senior vp-operations.

Last October, the 54-year-old executive told NHCN that he saw the need for a change in the organization's leadership. "As I look at what's happened in our industry, I've seen that, when people stay too long, it hurts their company," McClelland said. During his 28-year tenure with the co-op, McClelland served as executive vp, vp-human resources and vp-sales and marketing. He also oversaw the co-op's name change from Hardware Wholesalers and the 1998 merger with Our Own Hardware, a 900-member buying group based in Burnsville, Minn.

McClelland's retirement has been in the works for at least a year. In November 2000, Do it Best added two senior vps to its executive staff; both were considered candidates for McClelland's job, according to the CEO. Dave Haist, the co-op's vp-retail development, was promoted to senior vp-member services. Haist will now serve as executive vp and chief operating officer, effective Jan. 1, 2002.

The other senior vp job went to Taylor, a retailer-member and two-term chairman of Do it Best's board of directors. Taylor left his family's hardware business, Taylor's Do it Centers in Virginia Beach, Va., to join Do it Best's executive staff. The six-store chain is now operated by Taylor's two brothers and a third partner.

Do it Best serves 4,350 member-retailers in the United States and in 42 foreign countries. Sales in the last fiscal year topped $2.2 billion.