Home Depot CEO Ted Decker is stepping away from day-to-day leadership of the Atlanta-area retail giant for a temporary medical leave of absence, the company announced Wednesday, handing the reins to two executives who have worked together at the company for more than two decades. The news comes just six days before Home Depot is set to report its fiscal second-quarter earnings, and shares of the company dipped on the announcement.
Decker's leave is expected to last a few months, according to CNBC, which first reported the news. The company has provided no further details on his condition, and under SEC Form 8-K Item 5.02, public companies are required to disclose an executive's temporary departure within four business days without being obligated to detail private medical information, according to background compiled by Harvard Law School's Forum on Corporate Governance. In a securities filing reported by Investing.com Canada, Home Depot officially designated Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail as interim principal executive officer for SEC compliance purposes during Decker's absence.
In an internal memo sent to employees Wednesday, Decker said he made the decision to step back “in partnership with his doctors” and told staff “we're in very good hands,” as reported by Transport Topics. He noted he has worked with the two executives now covering for him for more than two decades.
Two Longtime Insiders Split the Job
Home Depot's board of directors appointed Ann-Marie Campbell, the company's senior executive vice president of U.S. stores and operations, and McPhail, its chief financial officer, to lead during Decker's absence, per the seed facts confirmed in CNBC's report. Campbell will oversee day-to-day operations, while McPhail will run financial management and the company's Pro business, which serves professional contractors. Campbell and McPhail have worked together for more than 20 years, and according to a securities filing cited by CNBC, neither will receive additional pay for the expanded responsibilities.
Campbell's Home Depot story stretches back four decades: she joined the company in 1985 and started as a cashier before climbing to her current senior executive role. She is 61 years old. McPhail, 56, joined Home Depot in 2005 and has served as chief financial officer since September 2019.
Greg Brenneman, the lead independent director of Home Depot's board, will take over as board chair during Decker's leave. Brenneman said he is confident in Campbell's and McPhail's ability to lead the company, adding that Home Depot has “the best management team in retail.” The board's appointments were made in alignment with Decker's own recommendation.
A 26-Year Career at the Top of the Company
Decker joined Home Depot in 2000 as director of business valuation, rose to president and chief operating officer in October 2020, and was named chief executive officer in March 2022 before adding the role of board chairman later that year, according to a corporate history detailed by 3BL Media. He succeeded former CEO Craig Menear. Under his tenure, Home Depot completed its largest acquisition in corporate history in June 2024, buying specialty trade distributor SRS Distribution for approximately $18.25 billion to expand its reach among professional contractors, a deal that grew the company's addressable professional customer market by an estimated $50 billion.
Home Depot is headquartered in Cobb County, Georgia, in the metro Atlanta area, where Decker is based, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. The company is one of the largest corporate employers headquartered in the state. By the close of its first fiscal quarter of 2026, Home Depot operated 2,361 retail stores and more than 1,280 SRS Distribution locations across North America, supported by a workforce of more than 470,000 associates spanning all 50 states, Canada and Mexico.
Stock Dips as Earnings Loom
Shares of Home Depot (NYSE: HD) fell roughly 2.5% to around $345.90 during trading Wednesday, according to TradingView, as investors reacted to the sudden leadership uncertainty. The stock had risen about 3% year-to-date through the prior day's close. The dip comes ahead of Home Depot's fiscal second-quarter earnings report, scheduled for next Tuesday, August 18.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Home Depot posted $41.8 billion in net sales, a 4.8% increase year-over-year, and $3.3 billion in net earnings, while reaffirming its full-year sales growth forecast of 2.5% to 4.5%. Comparable store sales grew 0.6% during that quarter. Despite the leadership shakeup, Wells Fargo maintained an “overweight” rating on Home Depot stock with a $400 price target following the announcement, according to MarketBeat, with analysts citing strong underlying fundamentals despite the near-term uncertainty.
Home Depot's retail footprint has been an active storyline in recent months, from a new Schertz store opening to expansion projects in Tennessee and Texas. Now the company's executive bench, rather than its store count, is the focus as Campbell, McPhail and Brenneman steer the retailer through Decker's absence and into next week's earnings report.
