Westlake Ace Hardware promotes two leaders
Westlake Ace Hardware announced two key promotions: Jeremy Van Ommeren has been promoted to divisional vice president; and Hilary Murray has been named director of real estate.
“The promotions of Jeremy Van Ommeren and Hilary Murray are well deserved. As passionate leaders and strategic thinkers, they repeatedly prove to be integral to our growth,” said Joe Jeffries, president and CEO of Westlake Ace Hardware.
As divisional vice president, Jeremy Van Ommeren leads a group of eight Westlake Ace district managers who oversee 108 store locations.
He is responsible for sales growth and profitability, customer satisfaction, merchandising standards, recruitment, training, operations, and staff development, said the firm.
An expert in retail loss prevention, Van Ommeren joined Westlake Ace in 1999 and was most recently the senior director of operations support.
Van Ommeren is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
As director of real estate, Hilary Murray will oversee property leasing and store growth plans for Ace Retail Holdings, the parent company of Westlake Ace and Great Lakes Ace. She was previously the manager of real estate for Westlake Ace.
Murray has an extensive background in commercial real estate. Prior to joining Westlake Ace in 2017, she was a senior leasing associate for RED Development, said the company.
Prior to that, she held retail and commercial leasing positions with Copaken Brooks, CB Richard Ellis, and The Kroenke Group.
Murray holds dual bachelor’s degrees in international business and international/global studies from the University of Missouri.
