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Board of Directors > Director Biographies | | Director Biographies |  | Brian P. Anderson, age 58, is the former Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of OfficeMax Incorporated, a distributor of business-to-business and retail office products. Prior to assuming this position in 2004, Mr. Anderson was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Baxter International Inc., a position he assumed in 1998. He is also a director of A. M. Castle & Co., James Hardie Industries NV, and Pulte Homes, Inc., and serves on the audit committees of each of those companies. Mr. Anderson, an independent director, was first elected a director of Grainger in 1999 and is Chairman of the Audit Committee, an ‘‘audit committee financial expert,’’ and a member of the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee. The Board has determined that Mr. Anderson’s simultaneous service on the audit committees of more than three public companies will not impair his ability to serve effectively on Grainger’s Audit Committee. |  |  | Wilbur H. Gantz, age 71, is President and CEO of PathoCapital LLC, a privately owned company investing in the healthcare field. Mr. Gantz was formerly Chairman and CEO of Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Chairman and CEO of PathoGeneisis Corporation and was President of Baxter International. Mr. Gantz, an independent director, was first elected a director of Grainger in 1985 and is Chairman of the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. | |  |
V. Ann Hailey, age 58, is the Chief Financial Officer, Gilt Groupe. Previously she was with Limited Brands, Inc., where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 1997 to 2006 and as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development from 2006 to 2007. Prior to joining Limited Brands in 1997, Ms. Hailey was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Pillsbury Company. She is also a director of Avon Products, Inc. and Realogy Corporation, and serves on the audit committees of each of those companies. Ms. Hailey, an independent director, was first elected a director of Grainger in 2006 and is a member of the Audit Committee, an ‘‘audit committee financial expert,’’ and a member of the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee.
| |  | William K. Hall, age 65, is a private investor and Chairman of Procyon Technologies, Inc., a privately owned, Chicago-based holding company. Prior to assuming that position in 2000, Mr. Hall was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Falcon Building Products, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of products for residential and commercial construction and home improvement markets. He currently serves on the boards of Actuant Corporation, Great Plains Energy Incorporated, A. M. Castle & Co., and Stericycle, Inc. Mr. Hall, an independent director, was first elected a director of Grainger in 2005 and is a member of the Audit Committee and the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee. | |  | Richard L. Keyser, age 66, is Grainger’s Chairman Emeritus effective April 28, 2009. Previously he served as Grainger’s Chairman of the Board, a position assumed in 1997. He also served as Grainger's Chief Executive Officer, a position assumed in 1995 and prior to that he served as Grainger’s Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Keyser is also a director of Principal Financial Group, Inc., and Zebra Technologies Corporation. He joined Grainger in 1986 and became a director in 1992. | |  | Stuart L. Levenick, age 56, is Group President of Caterpillar Inc., a manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. Prior to assuming that position in 2004, Mr. Levenick served as Vice President, Caterpillar Inc. and Chairman of Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd. from 2000 to 2004 and as Vice President, Asia Pacific Division from 2001 to 2004. He is also a director of Entergy Corporation, New Orleans, LA, and the US-Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Levenick, an independent director, was first appointed a director of Grainger in 2005 and is a member of the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee. | |  | John W. McCarter, Jr., age 71, is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Field Museum of Natural History, a position assumed in 1996. Mr. McCarter served as Senior Vice President of Booz, Allen & Hamilton Inc., a management consulting firm, until 1997. He is also a director of Divergence, Inc. and Janus Funds. Mr. McCarter, an independent director, was first elected a director of Grainger in 1990 and is a member of the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee. | |  | Neil S. Novich, age 54, is the former Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Ryerson Inc., a major metal distributor and processor. He became Ryerson’s President and Chief Executive Officer in 1996 and its Chairman in 1999. Mr. Novich is also a director of Analog Devices, Inc. Mr. Novich, an independent director, was first elected a director of Grainger in 1999 and is Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee. | |  | Michael J. Roberts, age 58, is Chief Executive Officer and the Founder of Westside Holdings, LLC, a marketing and brand development company. He is the former President and Chief Operating Officer of McDonald’s Corporation, and before assuming this position in November 2004, his previous positions at McDonald’s Corporation included Chief Executive Officer—McDonald’s USA during 2004; President—McDonald’s USA from 2001 to 2004; and President, West Division—McDonald’s USA from 1997 to 2001. He is the Vice Chair of the 2016 Chicago Olympic Bid Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Mr. Roberts, an independent director, was first appointed a director of Grainger in 2006 and is a member of the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee. | |  | Gary L. Rogers, age 64, was Vice Chairman of General Electric Company from 2001 until his retirement in December 2003. Previously, Mr. Rogers was Senior Vice President of General Electric Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Plastics from 1992 to 2001. He is also a director of Wyeth. Mr. Rogers, an independent director, was first appointed a director of Grainger in 2004 and is a member of the Audit Committee and the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee. | |  | James T. Ryan, age 50, is Grainger’s Chairman of the Board effective April 28, 2009. He assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer in 2008 and President in 2006. Mr. Ryan became Chief Operating Officer and was appointed to Grainger’s Board of Directors in 2007. Mr. Ryan served as Group President in 2004. He has served Grainger in increasingly responsible roles since 1980, including Executive Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Service; Vice President, Information Services; President, grainger.com; and President, Grainger Parts. Mr. Ryan is a Trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry and DePaul University, and a member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago and the Economic Club of Chicago. | |  | James D. Slavik, age 56, is Chairman and a director of Mark IV Capital, Inc., an investment company dealing in real estate development and corporate investments. Mr. Slavik, an independent director, was first elected a director of Grainger in 1987 and is a member of the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee. | |  | Harold B. Smith, age 75, is Chairman of the Executive Committee and a director of Illinois Tool Works Inc., a worldwide manufacturer and marketer of engineered components and industrial systems and consumables. He is also a director of Northern Trust Corporation. Mr. Smith, an independent director, was first elected a director of Grainger in 1981 and is a member of the Board Affairs and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee. Mr. Smith has reached the age at which, under Grainger’s Criteria for Membership on the Board of Directors, an outside director would generally not be nominated. However, the Board has determined that in the case of Mr. Smith, an exception to this general principle is appropriate. | |  | | |
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