Our Team

Dan Crane President & CEO

26+ years of experience in the Retail Sector
Held Buying, Category Management & Supply Chain roles at Ace Hardware Corporation during his 13-year Ace Career
Earned a BS Degree from Illinois State University and an MBA from Keller School of Business

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Canaan Lawrence Executive Vice President

25 years of experience in the Hardware, Home Center, Industrial & E-comm segments
Held various merchandising roles at Ace Hardware, as well as Executive Sales Management roles at Westinghouse & NIBCO
Previously President of American Standard Water Heaters
Currently leads the Industrial, Big Box & E-commerce business
Earned a BS Degree from Illinois State University

Mark Whitlock Vice President, Revenue Operations

29+ years of experience in the hardware and shipping, packaging, and industrial supplies segment
Held Merchandising, Private Brands, Category Management, and Supply Chain roles during an 18-year career at Ace Hardware
Previously a Merchandising Systems Manager at Uline
Currently leads the Operations, IT/BI & Amazon Team
Earned a BA Degree from Augustana College

Richard Rush Vice President Orgill & Field Sales

14+ years of experience in the Hardware segment
Has held various sales & support roles during his career at Creeden & Associates
Currently leads the Orgill business

Ken BallaVice President of Sales,
Ace Hardware

23 years of experience in the Hardware segment
Held Buying, Category Management & DMM roles during his 19-year career at Ace Hardware.
Previous Director of Sales at Danco, Inc.
Currently leads the Ace Hardware business and Customer Service
Earned a BS Degree from Illinois State University

Chris Krebs
Vice President of Sales,
Do it Best

12+ years of experience in the Hardware channel
Worked on the manufacturer side as a National Account Manager
Earned a BS from Indiana University

Heather WatsonDirector of eCommerce

8 years of experience in the eCommerce and Retail segment
Held various roles at eCommerce food and Consumer goods
Currently manages the eCommerce team and marketing segment at Creeden
Earned a BS degree in Business Administration from Lewis University

Ildas Durmic
Director of Sales,
True Value

13 years of experience in the Hardware segment
Held Merchandising & Supply Chain roles at Ace Hardware, as well as Sales & Support roles during his career with Creeden
Currently leads the True Value business
Earned a BBA in International Business from Loyola University Chicago

Rory Hillmer
Director of Sales,
Ace Hardware

12+ years of experience in the Hardware industry
Held various positions at Apex Tool Group including Outside Sales, Channel Marketing, and National Account Management
Earned Bachelor of Business Administration from Grand Valley State University

Brent Morris Director of Sales,
Farm & Ranch

38 years of experience in Retail Hardware/Home Center business
33 years of sales at Creeden and Associates
5 years of sales experience at Black and Decker
Earned degree from Indiana University/ Kelly School of Business

Rosa Bolger
Customer Service Manager

20+ years of in a management role in the dental field
Held Customer Service and Operational Management roles at Familia Dental which has 42 locations
Currently manages the Customer Service team overseeing the strategic planning, execution, and overall development of the department
Certification with Schedule Institue

Audrey Rutzen Accounting Manager

36 years of experience in the public & private accounting sectors
Currently leads the accounting & financial reporting functions
Earned a BS Degree from DePaul University

Greg BiernackiDirector of IT & Business Technology

20 years of experience in software development and database management
Held Senior Software Developer role during an 11-year career at Flying Food Group
Currently leads Software Development, Network Engineering, and BI Teams
Earned BA at DeVry University

Monica HynesHuman Resource Manager

9 years of experience working in HR
Held various positions within HR over the years and gained a large skill set from it
Earned a BS Degree from NIU and a Master's Degree from Benedictine University

National Sales Force

With coverage of all 50 states and major US markets, our National Sales Force is focused on gaining retail space. By utilizing our proprietary in-field sales software, our sales team is equipped to execute in the stores like no other. Through consultative solution-based selling, our sales team is laser-focused on securing inline programs, end caps, and promotional placement in over 20,000 retail locations.

Dan Grantham Strategic Account Manager

Over 30 years of experience in the retail sales
Sales and Management - Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Miller Brewing Co Distributor and 12 years at Creeden
BSBA in Business Management from Appalachian State University

Connie McGreevyStrategic Account Manager

32 years of experience in the hardware sector
Has held multiple management & support roles during her career at Creeden
Currently manages marketing & sales support for Creeden Strategic Account initiative

Aaron Ausfahl
Strategic Account Manager

34 years in the Hardware industry
Held various management
Currently manages marketing & sales support for Creeden Strategic Account initiative
Earned a BS Degree from Wayne State College

Bill Chose Strategic Account Manager

29 years in the hardware channel
Held various roles at Creeden including1-year as a Senior Regional Manager, 9 years as a Midwest and East Regional Sales Manager, and 1 year as an Outside Sales Rep
Held various roles in hardware from delivery to the buyer to manager
Owned and operated a Hardware Hank store
Earned a BS in Business Management from Rasmussen School of Business

David HarrisRegional Sales Manager

26+ years experience in Sales and Sales Management for companies providing services to the retail market
Background in building services and former Director of Development for a Commercial Construction Company
Previous store-level hardware experience

Scott AlbaneseRegional Sales Manager

9 years in the hardware channel
20 plus years of selling experience at the retail level
10 plus years of management experience
Earned a BS in Business Administration University of Nevada-Reno

Terry Richardson
Industrial National Sales Manager

25+ years in the Industrial, Healthcare, Government, and Retail Sales & Marketing
Previously served in Senior and Executive level positions for both Public and Privately held corporations
Since joining Creeden in 2018 he has held sales territory responsibilities in four states and has served as a National Sales Force Trainer
Current position, Industrial National Sales Manager with responsibility for Grainger, Fastenal, and MSC

Customer Service

Customer Service

Our fully staffed customer support help desk is here to support retail stores across the US. With an average inbound call rate of 1,500 calls per week, our team provides product information, order entry, and tracking & field sales support.

Account Team

Account Team

Creeden & Associates is a Chicago-based manufacturer representative agency with a sales force throughout the United States. We specialize in both the sales and back-office support of your business needs

Operations & Back Office Teams

Operations & Back Office Teams

Our operations team and the combined departments of business intelligence, business technology, accounting, and human resources are integral to ensuring all areas of the company run smoothly. Our core values of integrity, service, and continuous improvement are central to these teams’ daily activities.

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Customer_Service@Creeden.com
(847) 998-9770