Russ Kathrein is stepping down as president and CEO of Alexander Lumber, effective immediately. Bill Cummings has been named as the interim CEO to lead a strategic assessment and prepare the company for a CEO search in the first quarter of 2021. Kathrein, the chair-elect of the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealers Association (NLBMDA), will assist Alexander Lumber with the management transition through August.
“Digital technologies is beginning to transform the manufacture and delivery of the finished house to the home buyer,” Cummings said in a news release. “We have the team and resources to really hone these capabilities. We’ll spend the next six months intensively reviewing how we go to market and prioritizing our investment in strategic technologies. Watt Alexander, chair of the board, said Cummings’ limited LBM experience was a deliberate choice by the board.
Cummings has built and run a wide variety of businesses, from web marketplaces, to court data search engines, to cloud-based supercomputing services. The interim CEO most recently completed a five-year stint running Glassybaby, a hand-blown glass products company.
“Bill’s range of technology start-up, senior management, and investment experience is well-suited to lead an objective, in-depth reappraisal of our strategy before we hire our next CEO,” Alexander said. “”Bill brings an eye for innovation and strategic planning—a fresh perspective to the business overall.”
Kathrein served as president and CEO of Alexander Lumber since 2014. During his career prior to joining Alexander Lumber, Kathrein worked for 84 Lumber, BMC West (now BMC), and ProBuild (now Builders FirstSource).
“Russ has built a strong management team with deep industry experience,” Watt Alexander, the chair of the board, said in a prepared statement. “He’s significantly improved our operating efficiency and raised our game as a family-dominated board. We’re a much stronger company than when he started six years ago. We sincerely appreciate his efforts and wish him all the best on his next endeavor.”
Family-owned Alexander Lumber, based in Aurora, Ill., has been active in the industry since 1891. The company has dozens of locations, including two truss plants, across Illinois, southeastern Wisconsin, and eastern Iowa.
