Board Member Profiles

James T. Ryan

Jim Ryan was named Chairman in April 2009, and President and Chief Executive Officer in June 2008.  He has been President of Grainger since 2006 and was named Chief Operating Officer and appointed to the Board of Directors in February 2007.

 Prior to these roles, Jim served as Group President, responsible for the company’s businesses operating under the Grainger brand in the United States. Jim has served Grainger in increasingly responsible roles since 1980, including Executive Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Service.  In that post, he was responsible for driving growth and providing industry-leading service across all of the Grainger-branded business channels. He also has held various positions in product management and has served as President, Grainger Parts. As Vice President, Information Services, he oversaw the implementation of the single largest SAP system worldwide and achieved corporate Y2K compliance.

 Jim graduated from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in business.  He also earned a master’s degree, with distinction, in business administration with a concentration in marketing from DePaul University in Chicago. In 1999, he was awarded the Distinguished MBA Alumni Award by DePaul University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology recognized him as the 2006 Outstanding Leader in Industry. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and DePaul University. He is also a member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the Economic Club of Chicago and serves on the Chicago 2016 Committee.