With over 27 years of experience in the hardware, home center, Industrial/MRO, and eCommerce segments, Canaan began his career at Ace Hardware spending time in various roles in Merchandising. After Ace, Canaan spent much of his career in executive sales management roles at Westinghouse and NIBCO. Most recently, Canaan served as President at American Standard Brands. Today, Canaan serves as President & CEO at Creeden, and Chairman of Creeden Holdings.

With 18 years of experience at Creeden & Associates, Richard has built his career across sales, sales support, and leadership roles. He joined the company’s management team in 2019 and today serves as Executive Vice President. In his current role, Richard works cross-functionally to help lead the business while overseeing Creeden’s Orgill-focused sales team and the National Sales Force.

Mark Whitlock brings more than 32 years of experience across the hardware, shipping, packaging, and industrial supplies industries. During his 18-year career with Ace Hardware, Mark held roles spanning inventory management, private brands, category management, supply chain, SAP implementation, and vendor supply chain management. At Uline, he led the team responsible for implementing a new product information management system. Today, Mark is a partner and senior executive who leads Revenue Operations, Operations, IT, and Business Intelligence. His work focuses on aligning people, processes, systems, and data around the customer and manufacturer experience. He helps the organization improve performance by simplifying workflows, eliminating non-value-added work, and introducing thoughtful automation. Mark believes successful transformation begins with people. His leadership approach combines data-driven decision-making with clear communication, cross-functional collaboration, and a practical understanding of how work gets done. He is especially passionate about turning complex information into meaningful stories that help teams make better decisions, improve customer experiences, and build a scalable foundation for growth. Mark earned his bachelor’s degree from Augustana College.

With 25+ years of experience in the Hardware Channel Ken has held roles across various areas including Merchandising, Category Management, Sales, and Sourcing. Ken began his career with Ace Hardware in their Merchandising department where he managed categories such as Plumbing, Electrical, and Tools along with leading Ace’s Tools and Automotive team. Ken also led the Hardware sales team for Danco Plumbing as Director of Sales. Most recently Ken leads the Ace Hardware business for Creeden as Sr. VP of Sales and Partner.

Chris is a seasoned hardware industry executive with over 17 years of experience spanning strategic sales, distribution, and retail channel management. He spent the first 13 years of his career at Positec, where he advanced from a Big Box retail analyst to a lead sales role managing two-step distribution within the hardware channel. Following his tenure at Positec, Chris joined Creeden as Senior Vice President and Partner. In this leadership role, he oversees core strategic responsibilities, including the Do it Best Group, eCommerce, and HDA members.