Lowe's Canada Announces Newly Restructured Corporate Leadership Team

Senior appointments support Lowe's Canadian growth and business strategy

TORONTO, Nov. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Lowe's Canada announced today it has completed changes to the company's senior leadership team and is positioned to continue to grow the company across Canada.  Leadership changes at its corporate office in Toronto have taken place over the past few months and include key appointments and newly created roles in Merchandising and Marketing, Operations and Supply Chain, and Finance and Administration. The realignment supports Lowe's efforts in being the best home improvement company in Canada, while ensuring the optimal organizational structure is in place to deliver on business and growth strategies.

"I am thrilled to add such a talented group of seasoned leaders to the Lowe's Canada organization," said Sylvain Prud'homme, President, Lowe's Canada. "These newly appointed senior executives were hand-picked from some of the country's top retailers. The diversity of their backgrounds will enhance our capacity to understand our customer's expectations, continue to remain relevant and build stronger partnerships with our vendor community as we grow our business."

The new appointments include:

Nick Padovano was appointed to the newly created position of Head of Operations and Supply Chain. In this role, Padovano is responsible for leading the company's Store Operations, Store Support and Supply Chain functions, in addition to overseeing Commercial and Installed Sales as well as Distribution. Padovano has over 30 years of operations experience in the retail industry and has a deep understanding of the competitive retail landscape in Canada. Most recently, Padovano was Senior Vice President, Store Operations at The Bay/Lord and Taylor. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President, Store Operations at HBC-Zellers where he was responsible for all aspects of operations for 275 Zellers stores, and previous to that he was Senior Vice President, Store Operations at HBC-Bay/Zellers overseeing 100 Bay stores and 300 Zellers stores. Padovano has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Retail Management from Niagara Community College.

Igor Halencak was appointed to the newly created position of Head of Merchandising and Marketing. In this role, Halencak is responsible for leading the company's Merchandising and Marketing strategies, as well as the planogram facility. Most recently, Halencak was Senior Vice President, Home, Hardlines and Major Appliances at Sears Canada. Prior to that, he spent 14 years with Loblaw's Companies Limited in various senior positions in merchandising, promotions and category management.  His most recent role with Loblaw's was Vice President, Conventional Grocery.

Tony Tutolo was appointed to the newly created position of Head of Finance and Administration. In this role, Tutolo is responsible for leading the company's Finance, Loss Prevention and Information Technology functions, as well as Project Management and Merchandising Support. Tutolo has over 20 years of experience in risk management, information technology and finance with an extensive background in retail and consumer packaged goods. Most recently, Tutolo was Vice President of Finance, Risk and Information Technology at the Beer Store and Brewer's Distributed Limited. Prior to this, he held senior executive roles with Samsung Electronics Canada and Sara Lee Bakery Canada. Tutolo has a B.A. from Wilfrid Laurier University and has achieved his C.G.A designation.

About Lowe's

With fiscal year 2012 sales of $50.5 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE^® 100 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,825 home improvement and hardware stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Lowe's Companies Canada, ULC first opened Canadian stores in December 2007 and now operates 35 stores in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia with more than 5,000 employees company-wide. For more information, visit www.lowes.ca.

SOURCE: Lowe's Canada

please contact:

Sandy Indig
Lowe's Companies Canada, ULC
416-730-7475 (office)
647-236-6926 (cell)
[email protected]