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Exchange Director/CEO Takes Helm of Largest Military Retailer
Posted 6/18/2012 Updated 6/18/2012
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by Chris Ward
Army & Air Force Exchange Service Public Affairs
6/18/2012 - DALLAS, Texas -- Three weeks after being named the first civilian Director/Chief Executive Officer in the nearly 117-year history of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Tom Shull officially took the reins today of the $10-billion military retailer. Shull replaced the Exchange's last uniformed Commander, Brig. Gen. Fran Hendricks.
With the official signing of the paperwork today, the Exchange has been disestablished as a major command and remains a joint non-appropriated fund instrumentality (NAFI) of the United States Army and the United States Air Force under the jurisdiction of the Chief of Staff, United States Army and the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force.
Shull, a West Point graduate who received a Harvard University MBA, served in a variety of positions in the U.S. Army, including infantry company commander and assignments at the White House and National Security Council. He has served as CEO of Wise Foods Inc., Hanover Direct Inc., Barney's New York and was most recently CEO of Meridian Ventures LLC.
Shull will work with an executive team led by the Exchange's Chief Operating Officer Mike Howard. Howard has been instrumental in maintaining continuity since March 2011 when the Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum on "Track Four Efficiency Initiatives Decisions" that were "designed to reduce duplication, overhead, and excess, and instill a culture of savings and cost accountability across the Department of Defense." In accordance with this memo, the Exchange was directed to convert the Commanding General's position from that of a Major General to a Senior Executive Service civilian.
The Exchange, ranked 43rd in the National Retail Federation's Top 100 retailers in the U.S. based on dollar sales, is responsible for more than 3,100 facilities worldwide in more than 30 countries, five U.S. territories and 50 states. The Exchange operates 180 main stores and more than 2,000 fast food restaurants and also provides military communities with convenience, specialty stores and movie theaters on installations worldwide, including locations in Afghanistan.
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