Home Depot Chief Executive Ted Decker will take a temporary medical leave, and the company is elevating its finance chief and a senior VP to manage the company in the interim.
Who's stepping up? CFO Richard McPhail and Ann-Marie Campbell, the senior executive vice president of U.S. stores and operations. The pair will manage the company during the CEO's absence, Home Depot said.
Campbell will oversee Home Depot's day-to-day operations and McPhail will handle the company's financials. Greg Brenneman, independent lead director, will serve as board chairman during Decker's leave.
We noted in our newsletter last Friday that ConocoPhillips CFO Andy O'Brien is one of the latest finance chiefs to step into the top job, with its CEO Ryan Lance retiring next month after 14 years.
Home Depot's example is of course a different circumstance, but it serves as a reminder for other companies, underscoring the importance of having solid succession plans in place. And the choice of CFO to step in for the chief executive's role makes sense due in part to the operational expertise that most finance chiefs possess, as we noted in the Morning Ledger. ICYMI, take another look here , where we highlighted some insight from Jim Lawson, co-lead, global financial officers practice at Russell Reynolds Associates.
The Day Ahead
📆 Earnings
-- Applied Materials
-- Brookfield
-- Tapestry
-- Yeti Holdings
📈 Economic Indicators
The BLS releases the producer-price index for July.
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What Else Matters to CFOs
July's inflation report was close enough to expectations to ease pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month without resolving much about the outlook beyond that, The Wall Street Journal's Nick Timiraos writes .
Monthly inflation readings have taken on greater importance this summer. Officials are deciding whether they can still defend a forecast that has inflation coming down without higher rates, or whether they need to raise rates to get there. Data for June and July haven't suggested the type of broadening in price pressures that would force officials to abandon it.
The case for tighter policy also received less help from last week's employment report, which showed no sign of reaccelerating demand for labor. A stronger labor market might have animated concerns that rates weren't restrictive enough to bring inflation down.
-- Inflation Was 3.4% in July, Down Slightly From the Previous Month
-- Inflation Protection Is on Sale
📣Exclusives
-- Paramount Has Discussed Creating a Board to Ensure CNN's Independence
-- A New Luxury Hotel Canceled a YouTuber's $4,663 Stay. Then Came the Viral Feud.
-- Energy Startup Raises $750 Million for Rust-Powered Batteries
📰 Other headlines
-- Tariff Refunds Are Here -- and Turbocharging Earnings
-- The Jobless Boom Has Arrived
-- War Is Squeezing Another Global Chokepoint: The Black Sea
-- Mamdani's Honeymoon With New York Is Over
-- Americans Love the Roar of a V-8 Engine -- and They Don't Want to Give It Up
-- Zhu Rongji, Engineer of China's Economic Overhaul, Dies at 97
📈 Earnings wrap-up
-- StubHub Fails to Turn Profit as Costs Outpace Revenue Growth
-- Cisco Reports Sharp Jump in Profit as AI Orders Roll In
-- Cerebras Swings to Second-Quarter Loss, Lifts Full-Year Outlook
-- Brinker Forecasts Continued Growth on Chili's Momentum
-- Performance Food Sales, Profit Rise on Higher Prices
For more earnings news, click here.
The Big Number
Value of a deal by a group led by Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner to buy a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter, the billionaire who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers. The sale, which still requires NBA approval, would make the deal the highest-ever valuation for any sports team.
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