Hardwoods Distribution Inc

Management Team

Management Team

Daniel A. Besen

Senior Vice President, United States

Mr. Besen has been with us since 1984, when he joined our Northern California operations as a sales trainee. In 1988, he opened and managed our San Diego, California Branch and in 1990 was promoted to General Manager of our Pacific Northwest Group. In 1994 he became General Manager of Hardwoods and Hardwoods Southern California. In 2004, he was promoted to Vice President and in due course assumed responsibility for all of our US Hardwoods operations. In 2021, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of our US operations. Mr. Besen received a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Mathematics) from the University at Albany, New York.

Lance R. Blanco

Senior Vice President, Corporate Development

Mr. Blanco joined us in July 2010 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Blanco held that position until January 7, 2016, at which time he, for health reasons related to his bicycling accident, stepped down as our President and Chief Executive Officer and was appointed our Senior Vice President, Corporate Development. Mr. Blanco held senior positions in sales, distribution, marketing, manufacturing and supply chain optimization with Weyerhaeuser Company and MacMillan Bloedel Limited including, Vice President of Enterprise Supply Chain Management, of Business Development, and of the Cedar Group from 1983 to 2009. Mr. Blanco holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration degree from Simon Fraser University.

Robert J. Brown

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Brown joined us in August 2004 as Vice President Finance, was appointed our Chief Financial Officer in November 2004 and our Chief Operating Officer in March 2015. On January 7, 2016, Mr. Brown was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Brown was a manager in the Canadian Operations of Weyerhaeuser Company and MacMillan Bloedel Limited’s building products distribution businesses from 1998 to 2004. From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Brown was the Director of Acquisitions for Wajax Limited, and prior to that worked at Deloitte & Touche in Vancouver, British Columbia, and at a predecessor firm to PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the United Kingdom. Mr. Brown is a Chartered Professional Accountant, holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia.

Drew Dickinson

President, Rugby Architectural Building Products

Mr. Dickinson joined Rugby in 1992 and has served as General Manager of three Rugby distribution centers. In 2009, Dickinson’s leadership role was expanded to Vice President of Operations and named Chief Operating Officer in June 2010. Dickinson has a diversified role in the company with key roles in business development, vendor relations, operational process improvement, increased sales growth and profitability, mergers and acquisitions.

Dan B. Figgins

Vice President, Imports

Mr. Figgins joined our Livermore, California location in 1994 and in 1999 he was promoted to Branch Manager of the Sacramento branch. From 1999 to 2011, Mr. Figgins held progressively senior positions with us, including Import Manager and General Manager. In October 2015, he was promoted to Vice President, Imports. Mr. Figgins holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (Marketing) from California State University, Chico.

John P. Griffin

Vice President, Paxton

Mr. Griffin has been with us since 2012, when we acquired Paxton’s business operations. Mr. Griffin joined the predecessor of Paxton in 1993 and held progressively senior managerial positions prior to being named Vice President in 2011.

David Hughes

Senior Vice President, Acquisitions

Mr. Hughes joined us in July 2016 when his company, Rugby Acquisition, LLC, was acquired by Hardwoods. Prior to Rugby he was the CEO of a specialty steel distributor from 2006 to 2009, and from 1994 to 2006, he was a senior executive and principal of North Pacific Group, Inc. He held various positions including Chief Operating Officer of the Distribution Division and President of the Saxonville USA subsidiary. Prior to his building materials career, Mr. Hughes spent 10 years managing asset-based and commercial lending with Fleet Bank and Shawmut Bank.

Faiz Karmally

Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Karmally joined us in October 2014 as Corporate Controller and was appointed our Chief Financial Officer in March 2015. Prior to joining us, Mr. Karmally was a Senior Manager with PriceWaterhouseCoopers from 2012 to 2014. From 2003 to 2012, Mr. Karmally worked for Grant Thornton and held progressively senior positions in assurance and financial advisory services. Mr. Karmally is a Chartered Professional Accountant and has a Bachelor in Administrative and Commercial Studies from the University of Western Ontario.

Renee Murdoch

Vice President, Human Resources

Ms. Murdoch joined us in December 2016 as the Director, Corporate Human Resources. She was appointed Vice President, Human Resources in August 2021. Ms. Murdoch’s experience includes senior leadership roles in Britco Modular Construction; BC Hydro subsidiary Powertech; the BC Cancer Foundation and the Vancouver Organizing and Bid Committees for the 2010 Olympics. Ms. Murdoch also lead her own Human Resources Consultancy practice for several years. Ms. Murdoch holds a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Victoria and her designation as a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR), being a member of the Chartered HR Professionals Association for 25 years.  Ms. Murdoch is currently an active board member with Big Sisters of British Columbia.

Jason R. West.

Vice President, Canada

Mr. West has been with us since 1999, when he joined our branch in Langley, British Columbia. Since that time Mr. West has held progressively senior positions within our British Columbia region, including Sales Manager, Branch Manager, then Group Manager B.C. In October 2015, Mr. West was promoted to Vice President, Canada.

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