Ted Decker

Overview

Ted Decker
Born	1963 (age 62–63) Fairview Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Citizenship	United States
Education	B.A. in English
Alma mater	College of William & Mary (B.A.); Carnegie Mellon University – Tepper School of Business (MBA)
Occupation	Business executive
Employer	The Home Depot
Known for	Leading The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer
Title	Chair, president and chief executive officer of The Home Depot
Term	2022–present
Predecessor	Craig Menear
Board member of	Carnegie Mellon University; Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; Atlanta Committee for Progress
Spouse	Cathy (Creekmore) Decker
Children	2

🧰 Ted Decker (born 1963) is an American business executive who serves as chair, president and chief executive officer of The Home Depot, the largest home improvement retailer in the world by revenue and store count. He became president and chief operating officer in 2020 and was appointed CEO on 1 March 2022, later assuming the additional role of chair of the board, overseeing more than 2,300 stores and hundreds of thousands of employees in North America. A former English major who later earned an MBA in finance, Decker is often cited as an example of how a liberal arts background can lead to senior corporate leadership in a data-driven retail environment.

📈 Career trajectory. Decker’s career has combined international finance, consumer products and big-box retailing, beginning with banking roles at PNC that included an overseas posting in Sydney, followed by strategy and finance positions at Kimberly-Clark and Scott Paper in London and Atlanta. In 2000 he joined The Home Depot as director of business valuation and progressed through senior roles in business valuation, strategic business development and retail finance before being promoted to chief merchant in 2014, with responsibility for merchandising strategy across all stores and digital channels. His leadership has been closely associated with the company’s push toward an “interconnected” omnichannel model that integrates online ordering, delivery and traditional in-store service for both professional contractors and do-it-yourself customers.

⚖️ Leadership profile and issues. As CEO, Decker has emphasized a strategy of investing in professional (“Pro”) customers, expanding delivery and services while maintaining a visible commitment to urban markets that some competitors have exited because of crime and shrink. His tenure has also drawn scrutiny on environmental, labour and immigration-related questions, including shareholder pressure over deforestation in the company’s wood supply chain, a high-profile but ultimately unsuccessful unionization attempt at a Philadelphia store, and criticism from immigrant-rights groups following reports of U.S. immigration raids on day-labourer gatherings in Home Depot parking lots.

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Early life and education

👶 Pennsylvania upbringing. Edward “Ted” Decker was born in 1963 and grew up in Fairview Township near Erie, Pennsylvania, in a middle-class family environment that he later credited with instilling a strong work ethic from an early age. By the age of eight he was mowing lawns, and as a teenager he expanded this activity into a modest landscaping business serving homes and local businesses, later adding a driveway-sealing venture in which he arranged for a tractor-trailer load of sealant to be delivered directly to his parents’ garage to reduce costs. These early ventures exposed him to manual labour, customer service and small-scale entrepreneurship in the realm of home improvement and property maintenance.

🎓 College of William & Mary. Seeking warmer weather and drawn by a childhood fascination with Colonial Williamsburg, Decker enrolled at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, where he pursued a liberal arts education and ultimately majored in English. He immersed himself in literature, history and philosophy, briefly contemplating a career in publishing and lamenting what he saw as the decline of writing as a craft, before concluding that his strengths lay elsewhere and shifting his focus toward economics and quantitative coursework, including calculus, which he later described as proof that he could handle analytical challenges. Decker graduated with a B.A. in English in 1985, crediting the discipline’s emphasis on critical thinking, argumentation and clear writing with shaping his approach to business strategy and decision-making decades later.

💑 Meeting his future spouse. During his time at William & Mary, Decker met fellow student Cathy Creekmore, the daughter of a foreign service family and an avid reader who shared his enthusiasm for history and travel. A chance encounter under a shared umbrella on a stormy night in Williamsburg developed into a long-term relationship; the couple later backpacked together through India as students and married after graduation in the college’s historic Wren Chapel. The marriage would become a central pillar of Decker’s personal life as he pursued an international business career and later corporate leadership roles.

📘 Graduate business education. Following several years in the workforce, Decker enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, where he completed an MBA in 1993 with a concentration that reinforced his interest in corporate finance and international business. He has described this period as deepening the quantitative and financial skills that complemented his liberal arts background, equipping him for later roles in valuation, strategy and executive management.

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Career

🌍 Early professional roles. After business school, Decker began his career at PNC in banking and international finance, including a posting in Sydney, Australia, which gave him early exposure to cross-border transactions and global markets. He subsequently moved into corporate strategy and finance positions at consumer products companies Kimberly-Clark and Scott Paper, working in locations such as London and Atlanta and gaining experience in budgeting, capital allocation and strategic planning in the fast-moving consumer goods sector.

🛠️ Joining The Home Depot. In 2000 Decker joined The Home Depot as director of business valuation, an internal role focused on assessing investment opportunities and the financial impact of strategic initiatives for the retailer’s leadership team. He advanced to senior director and then vice-president positions overseeing business valuation and strategic business development, developing a reputation for combining detailed financial analysis with a practical understanding of store-level operations. Decker has said that these early Home Depot roles helped him learn the “art and science” of retail, balancing instinct about customer needs with data-driven decision-making on merchandising and capital spending.

🛒 Chief merchant and merchandising strategy. In 2014 Decker was promoted to chief merchant, the executive vice-president responsible for merchandising across all Home Depot stores and digital platforms worldwide. In this role he oversaw product assortment, supplier relationships, marketing programs and the in-store shopping environment during a period marked by rapid growth in e-commerce and the convergence of digital and physical retail. Decker championed an “interconnected retail” strategy that expanded categories such as cordless power tools, smart-home products and drought-resistant gardening supplies while aligning store layouts and online offerings so that customers could move seamlessly between channels. Under his merchandising leadership, Home Depot reported several years of robust same-store sales growth, with management crediting both macro-economic factors and targeted merchandising events for strong performance in the late 2010s.

🦠 President and chief operating officer. In October 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a surge in home-improvement spending by households confined at home, Decker was named president and chief operating officer of The Home Depot. In this capacity he was responsible for store operations, supply chain, merchandising, marketing and information technology as the company scaled curbside pickup, delivery services and safety protocols to handle unprecedented demand. Home Depot’s sales reached approximately US$132 billion in 2021, reflecting both elevated consumer spending on the home and the operational execution overseen by Decker and his leadership team.

👔 Chief executive officer and chair. On 1 March 2022 Decker succeeded Craig Menear as CEO and president of The Home Depot, and in October 2022 he also became chair of the board following Menear’s retirement from that role. His elevation coincided with a transition from the pandemic-era boom in home improvement to a more uncertain environment marked by inflation, rising interest rates and cooling housing markets, which pressured big-ticket discretionary projects. In early earnings calls, Decker reported record profits but adopted a cautious tone about the outlook, noting that while a “do-it-yourself spirit” among consumers persisted, external headwinds were moderating demand and required disciplined cost management and realistic guidance to investors.

🏗️ Strategic focus as CEO. As chief executive, Decker has highlighted three broad strategic priorities: deepening Home Depot’s relationship with Pro customers, strengthening the interconnected retail experience, and preserving the company’s long-standing culture of customer service and associate engagement. Under his leadership, the company has expanded offerings such as flatbed truck delivery, bulk pricing and dedicated digital tools for Pro customers, while also announcing plans to open dozens of new stores in markets that meet its economic criteria. At the same time, Decker has resisted calls to exit challenging urban areas affected by theft and organized retail crime, publicly affirming Home Depot’s commitment to cities such as Oakland, Detroit and Philadelphia and investing in new loss-prevention technologies and training to address shrink.

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Compensation and wealth

💰 Executive remuneration. As CEO and chair of a Fortune 20 company, Decker receives a multimillion-dollar compensation package that includes salary, annual incentives and long-term equity awards. For Home Depot’s 2023 fiscal year, his total reported compensation was approximately US$15.6 million, comprising a base salary of about US$1.43 million, a performance-based cash bonus of roughly US$2.7 million, and stock awards and other long-term incentives making up the majority of the total, alongside comparatively modest perquisites. Company disclosures indicate that upon becoming CEO in 2022 he requested that his base salary be held flat at around US$1.4 million, a gesture he framed as setting a tone of restraint at the top of the organization.

📊 Share ownership and net worth. Decker is a significant shareholder in Home Depot, holding more than 120,000 shares of the company as of late 2025, largely accumulated through long-term equity compensation and stock grants over his two decades at the firm. At prevailing market prices in 2025, that stake alone was valued in the range of US$80–90 million, leading some commentators to estimate his minimum personal net worth in the high eight- or low nine-figure range, exclusive of other assets. Unlike some high-profile CEOs, however, Decker has not attracted attention for conspicuous personal spending, and his wealth has largely been discussed in the context of executive compensation and shareholder alignment rather than lifestyle.

🏛️ Board and civic roles. Beyond his main employment at Home Depot, Decker holds several notable board positions, including service on the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, reflecting his ongoing engagement with higher education and his MBA alma mater. He also serves on the board of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, an historic preservation and education organization aligned with his long-standing interest in American history, and belongs to the Atlanta Committee for Progress, a civic group of business and community leaders in the company’s home city. Unlike many Fortune 500 chief executives, Decker has not joined the boards of other public companies, a relatively narrow portfolio that observers suggest helps him avoid conflicts of interest and concentrate on directing Home Depot.

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Personal life

❤️ Family and residence. Decker has been married for more than three decades to Cathy (Creekmore) Decker, whom he met during his undergraduate studies at William & Mary. The couple married in the college’s Wren Chapel and have two adult daughters; they are based in the Atlanta metropolitan area, near Home Depot’s headquarters, and are involved in community and philanthropic activities, often in connection with company initiatives such as support for veteran housing and disaster relief.

🙂 Personality and leadership philosophy. Colleagues and profiles often describe Decker as approachable and self-effacing, with a dry sense of humour and a strong emphasis on servant leadership that places front-line store associates at the apex of Home Depot’s “inverted pyramid” culture. He is known for frequent store visits during which he wears the company’s orange apron, interacts with employees and customers, and hands out “Homer Awards” recognising associates who exemplify company values, a practice he has said keeps him grounded in the day-to-day realities of the business. Decker has argued that leaders must act consistently with their values, warning that decisions made against one’s principles quickly erode credibility inside an organisation.

🏃 Hobbies and wellness. A keen runner since his college days in Williamsburg, Decker has continued the habit into his sixties, though he jokes that his outings resemble a brisk walk more than a competitive run. He has also embraced mindfulness and meditation, using smartphone applications for breathing and focus exercises, and tends a home garden that allows him to return to the hands-on outdoor work he enjoyed in his youth, albeit now as a form of relaxation rather than a source of income.

🎵 Love of live music. Decker is an enthusiastic consumer of live music and has expressed enjoyment of a wide variety of genres, from rock and jazz to heavier styles that sometimes leave him “half-deaf” the next morning, according to anecdotal accounts from colleagues. He has mused about attending the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert at some point, a reflection of his willingness to explore cultural experiences outside the conventional corporate world, even if only as a spectator.

📚 Reading and intellectual interests. Despite leading a large corporation, Decker remains an avid reader, favouring histories and biographies over management handbooks and citing works such as a biography of U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz as sources of insight into leadership under pressure. He frequently highlights his English-literature background when speaking to students and young professionals, arguing that the ability to analyse texts, construct arguments and write clearly is valuable preparation for leadership roles in any field, and encouraging graduates not to rush into narrow specialisations too early in their careers.

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Controversies and challenges

🪧 Unionization effort in Philadelphia. In 2022 Decker confronted Home Depot’s first formal unionisation effort when workers at a store in Philadelphia petitioned to join a labour union, citing grievances related to pay, staffing levels and working conditions. The campaign drew national attention as part of a broader wave of organising at major U.S. retailers; Home Depot reiterated its view that direct engagement between managers and employees was preferable to third-party representation, while emphasising its record of internal promotions and benefits for hourly staff. Workers at the Philadelphia store ultimately voted against union representation, but subsequent reports about the dismissal of a prominent organiser, which the company said related to policy violations, kept labour-relations issues in the public eye and underscored pressures on Decker to address frontline concerns. In early 2023 the company announced a US$1 billion investment to raise hourly wages, moving starting pay to at least US$15 per hour, a step Decker described as both recognition of employees’ contributions and a competitive necessity in a tight labour market.

🌲 Deforestation and environmental reporting. Environmental groups and some shareholders have criticised Home Depot under Decker’s leadership for the company’s timber sourcing practices and perceived slow response to investor demands for greater transparency on deforestation risks. In May 2022 approximately 65 per cent of shareholders supported a proposal requesting that the company assess how it could eliminate deforestation from its supply chain, a non-binding but symbolically significant vote that activists framed as a rebuke of existing policies. When the company did not publish the requested report within a year, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) urged shareholders to vote against Decker’s re-election as board chair in 2023, arguing that he and other leaders had failed to be responsive to the majority view. Home Depot subsequently committed to expanding its disclosures on forestry and racial equity, announcing that it would issue detailed reports and update its long-standing wood-purchasing policy, which originally dated to 1999.

🚨 Immigration enforcement at store sites. In the mid-2020s media reports and advocacy organisations highlighted a series of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations targeting day labourers gathered in Home Depot parking lots, particularly in Southern California, where contractors and homeowners frequently hire workers informally. At least one incident involved a worker fleeing an ICE operation near a Home Depot store who was struck and killed by a vehicle, triggering criticism that the retailer was not doing enough to protect vulnerable individuals who form part of its ecosystem of customers and contractors. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and other groups called on Decker to prohibit ICE agents from conducting raids on company property without court warrants, arguing that Home Depot had a moral obligation to defend the mostly Latino day labourers who congregate at its locations. The company has stated that it receives no advance notice of enforcement actions and instructs associates not to interfere, positioning itself as neutral while indicating that it will cooperate with lawful authorities and focus on safety; critics contend that this stance falls short of the more proactive protections they seek.

🛍️ Organised retail crime and shrink. Like many retailers, Home Depot has experienced rising levels of organised theft and shoplifting, a trend Decker has described as a “big problem” for the industry, particularly when stolen goods are resold on online marketplaces that can obscure their origins. Under his leadership, the company has invested in new anti-theft measures, including enhanced video analytics, locking displays for high-risk items and closer collaboration with law enforcement, while joining other retail executives in lobbying for legislation aimed at curbing the resale of stolen merchandise. Public filings and interviews have indicated that Home Depot recorded more than 140,000 instances of shrink in 2023, illustrating the scale of the challenge and its potential impact on margins.

📉 Post-pandemic headwinds and competition. After the pandemic-driven surge in home-improvement spending, Home Depot under Decker has had to navigate slowing demand as consumers shifted expenditure toward services and travel, with higher interest rates weighing on large renovation projects. In 2023 and 2024 the company trimmed its sales and profit outlooks, citing “consumer uncertainty” and pressure in housing, and Decker acknowledged that an anticipated recovery in demand had not yet materialised, preferring to provide conservative guidance to analysts. During parts of 2023 Home Depot’s share price underperformed that of key rival Lowe’s, prompting debate over whether Home Depot’s heavier exposure to do-it-yourself customers and urban markets left it more vulnerable to macro-economic shifts. Decker has responded by stressing long-term investments in supply chain, technology and Pro services, arguing that the company is well positioned to benefit when housing activity normalises.

🗳️ Political stance and public image. In contrast to some corporate founders and contemporaries who frequently comment on national political debates, Decker has largely maintained a low public profile on partisan issues, focusing his advocacy on topics such as trade policy and retail crime rather than broader social questions. Public records indicate relatively modest political donations, including contributions to centrist figures such as U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, and he has not been closely associated with the more outspoken political positions of Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, whose activism has at times prompted calls for boycotts. Commentators generally portray Decker as a steady, pragmatic leader whose controversies centre on business and governance issues rather than personal conduct.

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Other activities and recognition

🧡 “In the trenches” store-shift policy. In 2024 Decker reinstated and expanded a policy requiring all Home Depot employees, including corporate staff and senior executives, to work at least one eight-hour shift on a store floor each quarter, a directive intended to keep headquarters personnel connected to the daily realities of retail operations. The initiative, widely reported in business media, was billed by Decker as a way to foster empathy for store associates, surface operational issues first-hand and reinforce the cultural message that no one within the company is above serving customers directly.

🏅 Recognition and standing in Atlanta. Within the Atlanta business community, Decker is regarded as one of the city’s most influential corporate leaders, reflecting both Home Depot’s economic significance and his involvement in civic and philanthropic organisations. In 2025 he was named to Atlanta Magazine’s list of the 500 most powerful leaders in the region, which cited his role in steering Home Depot and participating in public-private partnerships aimed at urban development and community improvement. These honours complement recognition from his alma mater, where he has been featured as a “bold leader” and invited speaker on leadership and values-driven management.

🧑‍🏫 Engagement with students and leadership lessons. Decker has returned to William & Mary on multiple occasions to speak with students about leadership, ethics and career development, drawing on his experience navigating crises and complex stakeholder expectations as a CEO. In these settings he has stressed the importance of timely decision-making—remarking that unresolved people problems can become “cancerous” in organisations—and urged aspiring leaders to balance self-confidence with humility, to keep boards well informed and to remember that long-term corporate performance ultimately depends on culture and the everyday actions of employees. He has distilled this philosophy into advice that includes exhortations to “bet on yourself” while also recognising that what makes a company distinctive is the collective behaviour of its people rather than the prominence of its CEO.

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