Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has appointed John Hartmann as chief operating officer of Bed Bath & Beyond and president of buybuy Baby, effective May 18.
Reporting directly to CEO Mark Tritton, he will lead key operations functions including IT, supply chain and real estate, utilizing the company’s five strategic growth pillars to accelerate decision-making and enhance connectivity.
Bed Bath COO John Hartmann – BED BATH & BEYOND INC.
Hartmann will re-engineer Bed Bath’s supply chain and technology infrastructure to enhance fulfillment, drive cost improvements, improve customer experience and move toward an omnichannel approach with new customer offerings like Buy-Online-Pick-Up-In-Store, or BOPIS.
As president of buybuy Baby, Hartmann will focus on developing growth strategy.
“We continue to drive our growth plans and invest in strategic talent, while managing through the COVID-19 situation, backed by significant financial flexibility,” Tritton said in a prepared statement.
“John is a world-class leader with a passion for building high-performing teams and deep expertise delivering transformation in the retail sector. He will accelerate the execution of our vision to make it easy to feel at home with Bed Bath & Beyond, helping rebuild a modern, durable business and a deeper connection with our loyal customers across our portfolio of brands,” Tritton said.
Hartmann joins Bed Bath from hardware wholesaler True Value Co., where he was president and CEO for seven years. He reportedly led True Value through a significant transformation that modernized and strengthened its supply chain, accelerated technology investments and drove growth and profitability across 4,500 retail locations.
Prior to True Value, Hartmann was CEO of home improvement company Mitre 10, COO at industrial distributor HD Supply, and has held senior positions at The Home Depot, Cardinal Health and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“I am passionate about retail and thrilled to join the company to help transform this iconic brand. Together with the leadership team, I am confident we will continue to increase the pace of change to rebuild this business and support Bed Bath & Beyond’s omni-channel future,” said Hartmann in a prepared statement.
Bed Bath, which has been through a long period of change since CEO Mark Tritton joined the company in October and then ousted six senior executives in the midst of the holiday shopping season, plans to announce additional appointments in the coming weeks.
