Harry (Hal) A Lawton III (born c. 1974) is an American businessman. He is president and chief executive officer at

Tractor Supply Company Tractor Supply Company (also known as TSCO or TSC), founded in 1938, is an American retail chain of stores that sells products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, livestock, equine and pet care for recreational farmers ...

. He is also a member of the retailer’s board of directors. He was the president of

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

from September 2017 to December 2019.

Early life and education

Lawton was born in Kingsport, Tennessee, in 1974, where he attended Sullivan South High School. His father worked at

Eastman Chemical Company Eastman Chemical Company is an American company primarily involved in the chemical industry. Once a subsidiary of Kodak, today it is an independent global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and ...

in Kingsport. Lawton grew up playing basketball at the Boys and Girls Club, delivering papers for the

Kingsport Times-News The ''Kingsport Times News'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Kingsport, Tennessee, and distributed in six counties in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The Times News is published by Six Rivers Media, LLC., which publi ...

and attending St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Lawton holds dual bachelor's degrees in chemical engineering and pulp and paper science technology from North Carolina State University, where he was a Caldwell Fellow. He holds a Master of Business Administration from

University of Virginia Darden School of Business The Darden School of Business is the graduate business school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Darden School offers MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs. The school was founde ...

, where he was awarded the William Michael Shermet Award.

Career

Lawton started his career in a paper mill in rural North Carolina. In 2000, he joined McKinsey & Co. and was an associate principal till 2005. From 2005 to 2015, Lawton held different positions at

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement re ...

, including President Online and SVP Merchandising. From August 2015 to September 2017, Lawton was the SVP of

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

North America. From September 2017 to December 2019, he served as the president for Macy's. In January 2020, at the age of 46, Lawton returned to Tennessee and began serving as the chief executive officer and president of Tractor Supply Company. He is also a member of the Company's board of directors. During Lawton’s first year as CEO, more people began gardening and owning pets and livestock due to the COVD-19 pandemic and Tractor Supply Company saw revenue growth of 27 percent. The company was deemed an essential business. In 2022, Tractor Supply reached #294 on the Fortune 500 list. Lawton serves on the board of directors of

Sealed Air Corporation Sealed Air Corporation is a packaging company known for its brands: Cryovac food packaging and Bubble Wrap cushioning packaging. It sold off its stake in Diversey Holdings in 2017. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, its c ...

located in Charlotte, NC and previously served on the board of

Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings (originally Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, hence the nickname BDubs, or BW3) is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, a ...

. Lawton is a member of the

Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major United States companies. Unlike the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, BR ...

and

National Retail Federation The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department stores, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, chain restaurants, grocery stores, and multi-level ma ...

board of directors. He was a member (Agriculture) of the

Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups The Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups were created by U.S. President Donald Trump to combat the Financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Trump originally proposed a second task fo ...

, created by US President Donald Trump. US President Joe Biden highlighted a phone call with Lawton in @POTUS posts on Twitter and Instagram where they discussed the passing of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act and inflation.

Tennessee

Lawton is a board member on the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. He is also on the Tennessee Business Leadership Council, and on the board of Trustees for

Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art Cheekwood is a historic estate on the western edge of Nashville, Tennessee that houses the Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. Formerly the residence of Nashville's Cheek family, the Georgian-style mansion was opened as a botanical garden and art muse ...

. He was named by the Nashville Business Journal as Most Admired CEO in 2021 and 2022, and to the POWER 100 IN 2021 and 2022. He was a guest columnist in

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

on April 7, 2021, with "How Tractor Supply Company is helping vaccinate rural American against COVID-19". He wrote an Op-Ed in

on October 20, 2021, with "Why businesses should follow Tractor Supply’s push for diversity, inclusion, and climate change prevention".

Personal life

He lives with his wife, Jodie, in Nashville, TN. They have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton, Hal Living people 1974 births People from Kingsport, Tennessee People from Sullivan County, Tennessee North Carolina State University alumni University of Virginia alumni University of Virginia Darden School of Business alumni American chief executives American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies American retail chief executives eBay employees