Joe Jeffries is an accomplished retail executive whose career spans more than four decades of transformational leadership, operational excellence, and enterprise growth. Throughout his career, he has earned a reputation for building high-performing organizations, accelerating profitable expansion, and leading complex retail businesses through periods of significant change. His executive leadership has influenced many well recognized names in retail, including Ace Retail Group, Westlake Ace Hardware, Great Lakes Ace, A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Office Depot, and Home Quarters Warehouse. Today, Joseph is recognized as a respected business leader whose experience, strategic perspective, and operational expertise position him as a valuable advisor for corporate boards and executive leadership teams seeking sustainable growth.
Most recently, Joseph served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ace Retail Group, where he led both Westlake Ace Hardware and Great Lakes Ace. During his tenure, he transformed the organization into one of the nation’s premier hardware retail operations, overseeing a business approaching $1 billion in annual revenue. Under Joe’s leadership, the company experienced extraordinary growth, increasing annual revenue from approximately $232 million to nearly $970 million while improving EBITDA by more than 375 percent. His disciplined focus on operational execution, strategic acquisitions, customer experience, and financial performance established Ace Retail Group as one of the industry’s strongest growth stories.
Joe’s leadership extended far beyond financial performance. He successfully expanded the organization’s geographic footprint from 12 states to 18 states while increasing the store portfolio from 82 locations to 267 locations. Recognizing emerging opportunities within the marketplace, he launched a Commercial Division that grew from $4 million in revenue to more than $110 million. He also championed the company’s omnichannel transformation by leading an enterprise-wide e-commerce and delivery platform that ultimately represented more than 20 percent of company revenue. These accomplishments demonstrate his ability to anticipate market trends while balancing innovation with operational discipline.
Operational excellence has been a defining characteristic throughout Joe’s career. He directed a comprehensive multi-year store remodeling initiative that generated double-digit comparable same stores growth following renovation completion. He also modernized the organization’s marketing approach by leading the transition from traditional print advertising to a predominantly digital marketing strategy, allowing the company to better engage customers while improving marketing efficiency. Simultaneously, Joe led enterprise-wide operational improvement initiatives that reduced operating expenses by more than 20 percent while maintaining a relentless focus on customer satisfaction and profitable growth.
Before becoming Chief Executive Officer of Ace Retail Group, Joe served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Westlake Hardware, where he further refined his expertise in merchandising, operations, customer engagement, and organizational leadership. Earlier in his career, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts after first serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. During a pivotal period for the publicly traded company, he successfully guided the organization through operational transformation while leading the company through its strategic sale process in partnership with investment bankers and prospective buyers. His experience navigating mergers, acquisitions, and corporate transitions has provided him with valuable insight into governance, shareholder value creation, and executive decision-making.
Joe spent almost a decade with Office Depot, where he held multiple executive leadership positions spanning store operations, prototype development, space planning, visual presentation, and copy, print, and shipping operations. These progressively larger leadership responsibilities allowed him to develop a comprehensive understanding of enterprise retail operations, customer experience design, merchandising strategy, and multi-unit management. Earlier in his career, he built his operational foundation during thirteen years with Home Quarters Warehouse, where he developed the leadership philosophy that would guide him throughout his executive career.
Beyond executive leadership, Joe has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to governance and board service. As a former Board Member of A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts during its NASDAQ-listed years, he gained firsthand experience overseeing corporate governance, executive leadership, shareholder accountability, and strategic business direction. He currently serves as Co-Founder and Board Member of Mountain Laurel Partners LLC, further expanding his entrepreneurial perspective while remaining actively engaged in business ownership and strategic oversight. As he enters a new chapter of semi-retirement, Joe is intentionally pursuing corporate board opportunities where he can leverage his extensive leadership experience to help organizations grow, navigate change, and develop future leaders. Most recently Joe has joined two boards; Lava Technology Services as an Advisory Board member and Merit Distribution Group as a Board Director.
Joe believes that leadership extends beyond business performance and financial metrics. Having benefited from exceptional mentors throughout his own career, he views board service as an opportunity to give back by mentoring executive teams, sponsoring emerging leaders, and helping organizations avoid common pitfalls while capitalizing on growth opportunities. His broad cross-functional expertise spans merchandising, operations, acquisitions, omnichannel retail, new business development, profit improvement, organizational transformation, and enterprise leadership. This breadth of experience enables him to contribute thoughtful perspectives across virtually every aspect of corporate governance and strategic planning.
Committed to continuous learning, Joe recently completed Board Leadership in the Age of AI certification, reflecting his belief that today’s directors must understand both traditional governance principles and the emerging technologies shaping modern business. While his professional experience has been concentrated within the United States, his understanding of large-scale enterprise operations, digital transformation, customer engagement, and organizational growth makes him well equipped to advise companies operating in rapidly evolving markets. His leadership style combines accountability, collaboration, strategic vision, and operational discipline, creating cultures where people are empowered to perform at their highest level while delivering measurable business results.
As Joe looks toward the next phase of his professional journey, he remains energized by the opportunity to contribute at the board level. He is passionate about helping companies strengthen governance, accelerate growth, improve operational performance, and build sustainable competitive advantages. His proven ability to scale businesses, lead transformational initiatives, navigate acquisitions, and develop high-performing leadership teams makes him an exceptional candidate for corporate boards seeking experienced executive leadership grounded in integrity, strategic thinking, and a genuine commitment to creating long-term enterprise value.
Character:
Joe leads with humility, integrity, and a genuine commitment to serving others through mentorship and leadership. He believes the greatest measure of success is creating opportunities for people and organizations to achieve their full potential.
Knowledge:
With more than forty years of executive leadership across multiple retail sectors, Joe possesses exceptional expertise in operations, merchandising, acquisitions, omnichannel strategy, and enterprise growth. His broad business experience enables him to provide practical guidance grounded in proven results and informed decision-making.
Strategic:
Joe consistently identified opportunities for expansion, operational improvement, and long-term value creation while maintaining disciplined financial oversight. His experience leading transformational growth initiatives and complex corporate transactions demonstrates his ability to guide organizations through both opportunity and change.
Communication:
A collaborative leader who builds trust by communicating with clarity, transparency, and purpose. His ability to align diverse stakeholders around common objectives has been instrumental in driving organizational performance and developing high-performing leadership teams.
