Aaron's names new COO

ATLANTA — Aaron's, a lease-to-own retailer specializing in the sales and lease ownership of residential furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, has named David L. Buck as its new COO.

The company’s current COO, Ken Butler, 60, will retire May 1, after 39 years. Butler will also resign from the board of directors.

"Dave knows every facet of Aaron's operationally, having learned this through his lengthy career at Aaron's," said Ronald W. Allen, Aaron's chairman, president and CEO. "He is an excellent choice to lead Aaron's long-tenured and deep management team supervising our stores. We're very excited to name Dave as the COO and look forward to his leadership in his new role."

Buck, 63, was promoted to SVP of operations earlier this year. He has risen steadily through the Aaron's management development program during his 24 years with the company. Buck began his career with Aaron's in 1989 as manager trainee and then store manager. Within a two-year period, he was promoted to regional manager and subsequently regional VP and operational VP. He has won numerous Region of the Year awards and recently secured his second consecutive Best Overall Operations award for 2012. For 15 years prior to joining Aaron's, Buck handled operations for several other rent-to-own companies.

Allen also remarked on Butler's long-standing service to Aaron's. "Ken has truly been part of the DNA of Aaron's and has helped lead the drive for operational excellence amid tremendous growth over the past four decades. The entire company thanks him for his nonstop dedication to creating a nationally recognizable brand and helping many of Aaron's customers achieve their goal of obtaining brand-name products through our revolutionary lease-to-own model."

In January 1974, Butler joined Aaron's as a manager trainee and rose quickly in the ranks, moving from store management in Washington, D.C., to regional management in Texas, Louisiana and California. In 1983, he returned to Atlanta, where he was promoted to director of marketing and merchandising. In 1987, Butler was promoted to president of the newly formed division called Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership. Butler helped develop the Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership model, which revolutionized the rent-to-own industry with larger stores, more selection and lower prices. The success of the program was exponential and the SALO expansion continues to this day.