Lowe's board looks to Dollar General leadership

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s has announced that Richard Dreiling has joined its board of directors. He will serve on the board’s audit and governance committees. The announcement brings Lowe’s board of directors to 12 members, 11 of whom are independent.

Dreiling is chairman and CEO of Dollar General, a position he has held since 2008. He led Dollar General’s re-emergence as a public company in 2009 through a successful initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Dreiling has extensive retail experience, having served as chairman and CEO of Duane Reade Holdings Inc.; EVP and COO of Longs Drug Stores Corp.; EVP marketing, manufacturing and distribution for Safeway Inc.; and president of Vons, a food and drug division of Safeway in Southern California.

Dollar General benefitted greatly from a more cautious consumer environment in 2011, and is on track to continue that success this year. Lowe's will no doubt hope it can capture some of Dreiling's success.

Dreiling serves as vice chairman of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), and chairman of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University. In 2011, he was named “Retailer of the Year” by Mass Market Retailer. Dreiling earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial relations from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo.

“Rick has a tremendous range of retail and executive management experience from his years of working with some of the nation’s top retail companies,” said Robert A. Niblock, Lowe’s chairman, president and CEO. “He is a thoughtful leader who will be an outstanding complement to Lowe’s board of directors.”