Lowe’s taps former Walmart/Sam’s Club exec Donald Frieson to head up supply chain

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s has tapped former Sam’s Club and Walmart executive Donald Frieson as executive vice president of supply chain. Frieson left Sam’s Club in January shortly after John Furner took over as CEO for the departing Rosalind Brewer. Lowe’s said Frieson is responsible for the company’s distribution centers, logistics, global sourcing, transportation and delivery services. That work begins Aug. 8.

Frieson will report to Marvin R. Ellison, president and CEO, who also recently joined Lowe’s in June after three years as CEO of J.C. Penney.

“Don has a proven track-record of driving seamless logistics and operations excellence within large, complex retail organizations with big bulky products, and we are delighted to welcome him to the team,” Ellison said in a statement. “Don will bring deep experience and technical expertise to lead the transformation of our supply chain to meet the needs of our omni-channel customers.”

Frieson has more than three decades of operations and supply chain experience, the past 18 at Walmart. Aside from his chief operating officer role at Sam’s Club, he also served as chief integration officer for Massmart Holdings in Walmart’s International division. There he was responsible for supply chain, sourcing and private brand integration for more than 300 stores operating in 13 sub-Saharan African nations. Frieson was senior vice president of supply chain at Walmart, where he led more than 30 distribution centers that supplied merchandise to nearly 1,600 Walmart stores, Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets in the eastern U.S.

Prior to joining Walmart, Frieson spent 12 years working for Schneider National Carriers, where he developed operations and logistics expertise in the trucking industry. Frieson earned a bachelor’s degree in operations management from the University of Tennessee. He has served as a board member for the KIPP Delta Academy, Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Scott Family Amazeum.

“I am excited about joining the Lowe’s team and confident we have a significant opportunity to enhance our supply chain approach,” Frieson said. “I look forward to working with the senior leadership team to drive operational excellence and exceed customers’ expectations.”