DirectBuy names New CEO, Other Executives

January 20, 2015  by in Executive Changes, Industry   

Mike Bornhorst has been named CEO. prior to joining DirectBuy, Bornhorst spent time in leadership positions with companies like ADT and Culligan Water.

“While DirectBuy has been around for more than 42 years, it is a time of significant change for the company. There are many exciting changes underway that will reshape the way consumers interact with and benefit from DirectBuy,” Bornhorst said. 

Curt Hilliard has been named executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Hilliard has been instrumental in implementing new values across the company’s sales and marketing practices both nationally and within the franchise community.

Along with new values and a new vision, the retailer also promoted Dylan Astle to the newly created position of vice president of member experience. Astle is responsible for enhancing the company’s customer service and member engagement for the DirectBuy members. 

Jim O’Keefe has been promoted to vice president of merchandising. O’Keefe’s merchandise planning skills were formed during his tenure at OfficeMax and True Value.

“We have an incredibly happy base of satisfied members, but there has always been a bit of mystery associated with DirectBuy due to the nature of our business and pricing model,” Hilliard said about the team’s combined efforts. “Our goal is to be your trusted advisors by inspiring members to enhance their lifestyles with our service, selection and value.”

DirectBuy’s new values led the company to implement a new approach to member enrollment and transform its sales and Open House experience. Through DirectBuy’s marketing and sales evolution, the goal is to help consumers see the potential value of its offerings so they can most effectively determine if DirectBuy membership would be a good fit for their home improvement, furnishing, and lifestyle needs. Part of that process involved O'Keefe working with DirectBuy’s brand partners to evolve relationships so DirectBuy can more freely and transparently share the benefits of membership.

DirectBuy’s mission to focus on inspiring members with further additions to the company’s benefits is coming to fruition through Astle’s work.

“Throughout the organization, efforts are being refocused around highly customer-centric initiatives and the company’s values are also changing,” Astle said. “We’re listening to our members and delivering what they want.”

Consumers will see enhancements in the company’s appearance, as well. The refresh of the DirectBuy brand involves more than just operating values and a new vision and mission. A new consumer-facing website and marketing campaign will unveil the new DirectBuy to consumers and update the company’s brand image to mirror the changes taking place behind the scenes.

“Even if you think you know what DirectBuy is all about, we want you to give us a chance to show you the results of implementing a more contemporary business model,” said Mike Bornhorst. “At our core, we are a franchise organization made up of passionate owners and operators who are dedicated to inspiring our members.”