Home Depot CEO Ted Decker to Take Temporary Medical Leave; Leadership Split Announced

Home Depot said Wednesday that Ted Decker, the home improvement retailer’s chair, president and chief executive officer, is taking a temporary medical leave of absence, and that the board has installed a split interim leadership structure to keep the company’s operations and finances running during his absence.

The company said it expects Decker to return within the next few months. In the meantime, the board, “in alignment with Decker’s recommendation,” designated Ann-Marie Campbell, senior executive vice president, and Richard McPhail, executive vice president and chief financial officer, to oversee the office of the CEO. Campbell will oversee day-to-day operations, while McPhail will oversee financial management and Home Depot’s Pro subsidiaries. Gregory D. Brenneman, the company’s independent lead director, will chair the board while Decker is on leave.

“The Home Depot has the best management team in retail. Both Ann-Marie and Richard are strong, seasoned executives who have worked together for more than 20 years,” Brenneman said. “We are confident in Ann-Marie’s and Richard’s ability to lead the company during this time, and we look forward to Ted’s return.”

The move is a notable governance development at one of the largest retailers in the United States. At the end of its first quarter, Home Depot said it operated 2,361 retail stores and more than 1,280 SRS locations across the United States and its territories, Canada and Mexico, and employed more than 470,000 associates.

Decker has led Home Depot since March 1, 2022, when he became CEO and president. He was elected chair effective Oct. 1, 2022. Campbell is one of the company’s longest-serving operators, having started at Home Depot as a cashier in 1985. According to her corporate biography, she oversees U.S. stores and operations, Canada, Mexico, outside sales and service. McPhail joined Home Depot in 2005 and, as CFO, oversees financial operations, capital allocation and investor relations.

His interim assignment also fits with Home Depot’s recent push to expand its Pro business, which serves professional contractors and other trade customers. On July 30, the company announced an organizational realignment aimed at accelerating that strategy, and McPhail was given expanded responsibilities tied to the effort. That helps explain why the board assigned him oversight of the company’s Pro subsidiaries during Decker’s leave.

Home Depot’s announcement did not provide details about Decker’s medical condition, and the company framed the leave as temporary rather than a succession event. In its release, Home Depot said statements about the duration of the leave and the timing of Decker’s return are forward-looking and subject to risks, and it directed investors to review subsequent public disclosures, including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.