Past Honorees

Bobby started with Home Depot in 1992 as a cashier, holding positions of increasing responsibility in the Western division before relocating to Atlanta in 2011 to support Home Depot’s outdoor power and cleaning businesses. In 2018 he left Home Depot to serve as President of Rejuvenate Cleaning Products until the company was sold in 2022, allowing him to rejoin Home Depot as Merchandising Vice President responsible for the Hardware department. He has been an active supporter of the Lisa Beth Gerstman Foundation since 2010 as well as supporting several other charitable organizations including City of Hope, Home Depot Foundation, Home Depot Homer Fund, and the Baylis Family Scholarship Fund.

The Lisa Beth Gerstman Foundation is proud to honor Christopher Waits, Merchandising Vice President – Paint at The Home Depot. He is responsible for paint, including both liquids and sundries.Chris joined the Company in 1990 as a cashier while attending college. He has held roles of increasing responsibility including assistant store manager, store manager, district manager, vice president of sales and services, vice president of rental, repair and central returns, as well as regional vice president for the Northern Plains and Mid-South regions. Prior to joining the Company, Chris worked for W Building Supply and studied at Kennesaw State University.

Ro Rodriguez is Regional Vice President, New York Metro Region at The Home Depot. She began her career at The Home Depot as a part-time cashier in 1995 while attending Central Connecticut State University. Throughout her 28-year career with the company, Ro has continuously challenged herself by taking on numerous roles of broader and increasing responsibility. First across the store then eventually in store operations at a district and regional level. Her latest positions included Regional Director of Operations, District Manager, Regional Vice President of New Jersey Metro, and most recently Regional Vice President of New York Metro. In this role, Ro supports 72 stores and 19,000 associates across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Ro is actively involved in community events that encompass our commitment to veterans housing, which is the focus of The Home Depot Foundation and the company’s Team Depot associate volunteer force. Ro is not only passionate about giving back to external groups but also has a deep commitment to championing the growth and advancement of our associates. Her previous experience and devotion to talent development have created a passion for diversity and inclusion in the workforce.

Jim Recore is Vice President Merchandising for The Home Depot’s Lawn and Garden department. His categories of responsibility include Outdoor Power, Outdoor Living, and Cleaning. Jim joined the Company in 2010 as Director – Private Brand Development. He has held positions of increasing responsibility, including Divisional Merchandise Manager (DMM) for Hardlines Private Brands, DMM – Outdoor Power, and DMM – Outdoor Living. Prior to joining The Home Depot, Jim worked for 22 years at Sears. He started out as a part-time sales associate and worked his way up through the company in the stores organization, eventually landing in the corporate headquarters for the last 13 years of his career there. Jim held positions of increasing responsibility across Inventory, Marketing, Store Operations and Merchandising. His various roles included Buyer – Paint, DMM – Tools and his last role of Divisional Vice President – Craftsman Product Development. Jim holds a Bachelors degree in Communications from State University of New York.

David Passafiume is Merchandising Vice President – Tools for The Home Depot since January of 2019. He is responsible for all aspects of merchandising and marketing strategies for the Tool business.David joined The Home Depot in 2005 as a Merchant. He has held roles of increasing responsibility including Divisional Merchandising Manager and Merchandising Vice President – Lighting. Most recently, he was Merchandising Vice President – Appliances.Prior to joining The Home Depot, David spent 10 years in sales, marketing, and operations roles with General Electric’s appliances division.David has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Bellarmine University.

Pete Capel is Vice President of Field Merchandising for The Home Depot. He is responsible for the northern, southern and western divisions. Pete joined the Company in 1990 as a sales associate. He has held roles of increasing responsibility including assistant store manager, store manager, district manager, regional install manager, regional merchandise manager, divisional sales merchant and field merchandising vice president for the northern division. Most recently, he was vice president for in-store environment. Prior to joining the Company, Pete served for seven years in the United States Marine Corps.

Jeanine Huebner is senior vice president of hardlines for The Home Depot. She is responsible for merchandising and marketing strategies for hardware and garden. Jeanine joined the company in 1999 as a power tool merchant. She has held roles of increasing responsibility, including director of marketing planning, global product merchant of outdoor power equipment, divisional merchandise manager of outdoor living and cleaning and vice president of merchandising over décor and storage. Prior to her role as senior vice president of hardlines, Jeanine was vice president of merchandising over outdoor living, outdoor power equipment and cleaning. Before joining the company, Jeanine spent 16 years in marketing and sales with Black & Decker. Jeanine has a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Mount St. Mary’s University and a master’s degree in marketing from Loyola University Maryland.

Jim Hovis is vice president of merchandising for The Home Depot. He is responsible for the Company’s outdoor living and power business. Jim joined the Company in 1998 as rebates manager. He has held roles of increasing responsibility including associate merchant, field install manager, inventory merchant for distribution centers, merchant, global product merchant, divisional merchandise manager and, most recently, merchandising vice president for tools. Prior to joining the Company, Jim was a buyer with RSR Group, where he also spent time in operations and sales. Jim has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Florida and a master’s in business administration from the University of Central Florida.

Billy Bastek is vice president of merchandising for The Home Depot. He is responsible for the Company’s tool business. Billy joined the Maintenance Warehouse in 1989 as a warehouse associate. He held roles of increasing responsibility in that organization including special order merchant, associate merchant, buyer, senior product manager and director of merchandising/special services. In 2001, he moved to The Home Depot side of the business where he was global product merchant, merchant, senior merchant, divisional merchandise manager for outdoor living and, most recently, merchandising vice president for building materials.

Pat is a co-founder of The Home Depot. With a background in merchandising, Farrah started his own big box home improvement retailer called Homeco in the late 1970s. At the time, Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank were looking to start the company that would become The Home Depot. Upon seeing Homeco, Marcus realized Farrah shared the same vision for a big box retailer. Marcus and Blank recruited and partnered with Farrah to help them launch The Home Depot. In the early 1990s, Farrah left The Home Depot to pursue his own interests. He rejoined in 1996 and retired in the early 2000s.

Marty is Merchandising Vice President for The Home Depot. He is responsible for all lumber products to include plywood, dimensional & stud lumber, fencing and decking. Marty provides strategic direction on programs, products and pricing for the company. Marty joined the Company in 1991 and has more than 30 years experience in the Home Improvement Industry. He has held positions to include Merchant, Divisional Merchandising Manager, Global Product Merchant, Merchandising Vice President of the Western Great Lakes Division, Vice President of Merchandising for Millwork and most recently Merchandising Vice President of Lumber. Before joining The Home Depot, Marty spent 13 years at Channel Home Centers in New Jersey in various Operational and Merchandising positions.

Bill is president of The Home Depot Canada. He is responsible for the sales and operations of 180 stores in Canada and leads a team of more than 28,000 associates. Previously, Bill served as senior vice president of merchandising for the company. He was responsible for global sourcing, proprietary brands, environmental innovation and Your “other” Warehouse, a plumbing distributor owned by The Home Depot. In addition, he was responsible for retail sales and operations in China. Bill also provided strategic direction on products and pricing to the company’s Canadian and Latin American operations. Bill returned to The Home Depot in 2009 from Dick’s Sporting Goods, where he was senior vice president of merchandising, hardlines. His career at The Home Depot began in 1992, when he joined as a merchant for millwork and building materials. Bill took on increasing responsibilities in millwork and was named vice president of merchandising in 1997. In 2001, Bill focused his leadership on the company’s kitchen, bath and appliance departments and was promoted to senior vice president of décor in 2002. Before joining The Home Depot, Bill was a divisional merchandise manager for Lowe’s. Prior to that, he spent eight years with Menards in Eau Claire, Wis., as the millwork plant manager for its manufacturing division.

Joe is the President – Western Division of The Home Depot. He is responsible for leading more than 78,800 associates in 497 stores throughout 13 Western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. He is engaged with the everyday business strategies of operations, human resources, safety, asset protection, new store growth and merchandising for the division. Prior to his current position, for more than four years, Joe served as a regional vice president responsible for the NY Metro Region, the highest-volume region within the Company. In that capacity, Joe directed the operations of 94 stores across northern New Jersey, New York City’s five boroughs, Long Island and Connecticut. In all, he has been with The Home Depot for 18 years, initially as an electrical sales associate. Before joining The Home Depot, Joe served his country for six years. The former United States Marine is a Gulf War veteran. He is active in supporting several charitable organizations, including City of Hope and Queens Centers for Progress.