At Home names former Party City chief as CEO

At Home Group Inc. has ended its search for a new leader with the hiring of a retail veteran. 

The value home goods retailer has appointed Brad Weston as CEO, effective June 3. He succeeds longtime At Home chairman and chief executive Lewis L. (Lee) Bird III, who retired at the end of last year.

Most recently, Weston served as CEO of Party City Holdings Inc., which he left in November after its completed its restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He joined the company in July 2019 as president of Party City Holdings Inc. and CEO of Party City Retail Group.

Prior to Party City, Weston spent nearly seven years in various leadership roles at Petco, including as president and CEO from 2017-2018 and as president and chief merchandising officer from 2015-2017. Before that, he was senior VP and chief merchandising officer for Dick's Sporting Goods.

“We are excited to welcome Brad, a proven leader with a distinguished track record of transforming and scaling world-class retail companies,” said Erik Ragatz, executive chairman of At Home. “Brad’s customer-centric vision and purpose-led leadership approach align perfectly with At Home’s culture and mission to enable everyone to make their house a home. As we enhance and expand our business, inspiring customers with a disruptive offering of a broad and differentiated selection of home and holiday products for every budget, Brad is the ideal person to drive At Home forward in our next chapter of growth.”

Weston currently serves on the board of directors of Boot Barn Holdings as well as Vera Bradley.

“At Home’s legacy as a disruptive retailer, offering inspirational looks across styles and categories at compelling prices, remains a towering strength of the business,” said Weston. “I look forward to working with the At Home team to build on the company’s impressive foundation and unlock its tremendous potential in the home goods industry.”

Upon Bird’s departure, the retailer formed an Office of the CEO to assume the responsibility for leading the business while it searched for a chief executive. Current members Jeff Evans, Jerry Murray and Ashley Sheetz will continue in their roles as president and chief merchandising officer, CFO and COO, respectively. 

Erik Ragatz, who has been serving as executive chairman, will move to chairman of the board.

Headquartered in Dallas, At Home currently operates 266 stores in 40 states.