Hal Lawton
{{Short description|American businessman}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Hal Lawton
| image = Hal Lawton, CEO of Tractor Supply.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Lawton in 2020
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|7|4|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Kingsport, Tennessee, United States
| alma_mater = North Carolina State University (BS)
University of Virginia (MBA)
| known_for = CEO at Tractor Supply Company, former president of Macy's
| children = 3
}}
Harry A. Lawton III (born July 4, 1974) is an American businessman. He is president and chief executive officer of the retailer Tractor Supply Company. He is also a member of the company's board. He was formerly president of Macy's.{{Cite news|last=Nassauer|first=Sarah|date=April 8, 2020|title=Tractor Supply CEO Talks Pet-Food Hoarding During the Pandemic|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/tractor-supply-ceo-talks-pet-food-hoarding-during-the-pandemic-11586355127|access-date=May 8, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite web|first=Paul R.|last=La Monica|title=He tried to fix Macy's. Now he is the new Tractor Supply CEO|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/05/investing/macys-tractor-supply-hal-lawton/index.html|access-date=May 8, 2021|website=CNN|date=December 5, 2019}}{{Cite web|last=Loeb|first=Walter|title=Macy's President Hal Lawton Resigns|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2019/12/05/hal-lawton-macys-president-has-resigned/|access-date=May 8, 2021|website=Forbes|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=December 5, 2019|title=He tried to fix Macy's. Now he is the new Tractor Supply CEO|url=https://www.wral.com/he-tried-to-fix-macys-now-he-is-the-new-tractor-supply-ceo/18813508/|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=WRAL.com|language=en}}
Early life and education
Lawton was born in Kingsport, Tennessee in 1974. He attended Sullivan South High School. His father worked at Eastman Chemical Company. As a child, Lawton played basketball at the Boys and Girls Club, delivered papers for the Kingsport Times-News, and attended St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Lawton holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and another in pulp and paper science technology from North Carolina State University, where he was a Caldwell Fellow.{{Cite web|title=NCstate – Summer 2012 – page61|url=https://ncstatemagazine.gtxcel.com/ncstatemagazine/summer_2012?pg=61|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=ncstatemagazine.gtxcel.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Wall Street Thinks His Tractor's Sexy|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/07/31/tractor-supply-hal-lawton.html|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=www.bizjournals.com}}{{Cite web|last=Steiner|first=Ina|date=December 5, 2019|title=Former eBay Exec Named CEO of Tractor Supply Company|url=https://www.ecommercebytes.com/2019/12/05/former-ebay-exec-named-ceo-of-tractor-supply-company/|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=EcommerceBytes|language=en-US}} He holds a master of business administration from University of Virginia Darden School of Business, where he was given the William Michael Shermet Award.{{Cite web|title=Biografía de Hal Lawton – The Official Board|url=https://www.theofficialboard.es/biografia/hal-lawton-d2792|access-date=May 8, 2021|website=www.theofficialboard.es}}{{Cite web|title=Millennials ditching cities for the US countryside are boosting sales at rural businesses, the CEO of a $22 billion agriculture retailer says|url=https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/millennials-ditching-cities-for-the-us-countryside-are-boosting-sales-at-rural-businesses-the-ceo-of-a-22-billion-agriculture-retailer-says/articleshow/82278400.cms|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=Business Insider}}{{Cite web|title=Tractor Supply Appoints Macy's Executive Hal Lawton As CEO – Quick Facts|url=https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/tractor-supply-appoints-macys-executive-hal-lawton-as-ceo-quick-facts-2019-12-05|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=www.nasdaq.com|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Kellaher|first=Colin|date=December 5, 2019|title=Macy's Executive Departs to Run Tractor Supply|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/macys-executive-departs-to-run-tractor-supply-11575552375|access-date=May 8, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}
Career
Lawton started his career in a paper mill in rural North Carolina. In 2000, he joined McKinsey & Co. and was an associate principal until 2005. From 2005 to 2015, Lawton held different positions at The Home Depot, including President Online and SVP Merchandising.{{Cite web|last=Shoulberg|first=Warren|title=Tractor Supply, With New Acquisition, Continues To Outperform Retail Sector|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenshoulberg/2021/02/17/tractor-supply-with-new-acquisition-continues-to-outperform-retail-sector/|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=Forbes|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Harry A. Lawton III – President and Chief Executive Officer at Tractor Supply Company|url=https://theorg.com/org/tractor-supply-company/team/harry-a-lawton-iii|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=The Org|language=en}}{{Cite web|first=Stephanie|last=Crets|date=June 21, 2018|title=Macy's names a Home Depot technology executive as its chief technology officer|url=https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2018/06/21/macys-recruits-former-home-depot-technology-executive/|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=Digital Commerce 360|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Macy's new president marks a bold move in the fight against Amazon|url=https://www.herbertmines.com/media/macys-new-president-marks-a-bold-move-in-the-fight-against-amazon|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=www.herbertmines.com}} From August 2015 to September 2017, Lawton was the SVP of eBay North America. From September 2017 to December 2019, he served as the president for Macy's.{{Cite news|last=Ramos|first=Rachel Tobin|title=Home Depot Web site gets major renovation|url=https://www.ajc.com/business/home-depot-web-site-gets-major-renovation/pIhEBEfIdEOEzcnXUpyKXL/|access-date=May 16, 2021|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|language=English}}{{Cite web|date=March 5, 2021|title=Leadership Advice for CEOs and Entry Level Professionals from Hal Lawton '96, President & CEO of Tractor Supply Co.|url=https://poole.ncsu.edu/thought-leadership/article/leadership-advice-for-ceos-and-entry-level-professionals-from-hal-lawton-96-president-and-ceo-of-tractor-supply-company/|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=Poole Thought Leadership|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=December 19, 2019|title=Who is Tractor Supply Co, and Why Did Hal Lawton Go There?|url=https://www.therobinreport.com/who-is-tractor-supply-co-and-why-did-hal-lawton-go-there/|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=The Robin Report|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=President and Chief Executive Officer|url=https://www.businessroundtable.org/|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=www.businessroundtable.org|language=en}}
In January 2020, Lawton returned to Tennessee and began work as the chief executive officer and president of Tractor Supply Company. He is a member of the company's board of directors. During Lawton’s first year as CEO, more people began gardening and owning pets and livestock due to the COVD-19 Pandemic and Tractor Supply Company saw revenue growth of 27 percent.{{Cite web|title=How poultry and a pandemic put Tractor Supply ahead of the pack|url=https://fortune.com/longform/tractor-supply-fortune-500-hal-lawton-profits-revenues-employees-shareholder-returns/|access-date=2022-01-18|website=Fortune|language=en}} In 2022, Tractor Supply reached #294 on the Fortune 500 list. In February 2023, Tractor Supply extended the terms of Lawton’s contract for another three years, to 2026, with an evergreen extension going forward.{{Cite web |title=Tractor Supply gives CEO big vote of confidence; names new chairman |url=https://chainstoreage.com/tractor-supply-gives-ceo-big-vote-confidence-names-new-chairman |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=Chain Store Age |date=February 10, 2023 |language=en}}
Lawton serves on the board of directors of Sealed Air Corporation located in Charlotte, North Carolina and previously served on the board of Buffalo Wild Wings.{{Cite web |date=April 9, 2020 |title=Tractor Supply CEO expects shift to e-commerce to continue |url=https://postalnews.com/blog/2020/04/09/tractor-supply-ceo-expects-shift-to-e-commerce-to-continue/ |access-date=May 8, 2021 |website=postalnews.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=August 23, 2017 |title=Market Rally Continues as Shares of Technology and Retail Firms Rise |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/08/22/world/asia/23markets.html |access-date=May 8, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |title=Macy's President Leaves as Company's Troubles Mount |url=https://fortune.com/2019/12/05/macys-president-hal-lawton-tractor-supply-co/ |access-date=May 8, 2021 |website=Fortune |language=en}}{{Cite web |last1=Moin |first1=David |date=December 5, 2019 |title=Hal Lawton Leaving Macy's to Run Tractor Supply Co. |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/hal-lawton-leaving-macys-to-run-tractor-supply-co-1203389024/ |access-date=May 8, 2021 |website=WWD |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Macy's exec takes top spot at Tractor Supply |url=https://chainstoreage.com/macys-exec-takes-top-spot-tractor-supply |access-date=May 16, 2021 |website=Chain Store Age |date=December 5, 2019 |language=en}}
As of 2022, was a member National Retail Federation board of directors. He was a member of the Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups.{{Cite web |last=Sichko |first=Adam |date=June 10, 2022 |title=Inflation and an invitation: Tractor Supply CEO recounts his one-on-one call with President Biden |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2022/06/10/tractor-supply-lawton-biden.html |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=www.bizjournals.com}}
Lawton is a member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. He chairs its Talent Solutions Council.{{cite web |title=Talent Solutions Council |url=https://www.nashvillechamber.com/workforce-and-education/talent-pipeline-management/talent-solutions-council/ |website=Nashville Chamber |publisher=Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce |access-date=31 October 2024}}
Personal life
He lives with his wife, Jodie, in Nashville, Tennessee. They have three children.{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesnews.net/news/tractor-supply-ceo-enjoyed-kingsports-out-here-lifestyle-while-growing-up/article_322f9cee-7569-11ec-a3fe-23cad0534ff8.html|title = Tractor Supply CEO enjoyed Kingsport's 'out here' lifestyle while growing up| date=January 16, 2022 }}
Awards
Lawton was named to the list of "Most Admired CEOs" for 2023 by the Nashville Business Journal.{{cite web |title=Hal Lawton |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/c/q-a-meet-the-2023-most-admired-ceos/21443/hal-lawton.html |website=Nashville Business Journal |publisher=American City Business Journals |access-date=31 October 2024}}
References
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Category:People from Kingsport, Tennessee
Category:People from Sullivan County, Tennessee
Category:North Carolina State University alumni
Category:University of Virginia alumni
Category:University of Virginia Darden School of Business alumni
Category:American chief executives
Category:American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies