Aaron’s Company Announces New Leadership and Board Members

September 13, 2023  by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry   

In this new position, Falkenstein will oversee all lease-to-own operations at Aaron's and BrandsMart Leasing.

"Congratulations to Russ on his well-deserved promotion," said Douglas Lindsay, CEO of The Aaron's Company. "Over the past several years, Russ has led a number of critical initiatives at our company, including being instrumental in transforming the Aaron's go-to-market strategy to ensure that we provide our customers the best shopping and service experiences in the lease-to-own and retail markets that we serve.”

Mr. Falkenstein has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy, Analytics and Development Officer at Aaron's, LLC, a subsidiary of the Company, since 2021. He joined Aaron's, LLC in 2016 as Vice President, Corporate Initiatives and was promoted to Vice President, Financial Planning & Strategic Analytics and then to Senior Vice President, Finance & Accounting before taking on his previous role in 2021.

Prior to joining Aaron's, Mr. Falkenstein was a Senior Associate in Alvarez & Marsal's Turnaround and Restructuring Group. Mr. Falkenstein earned his bachelor's degree in business from The George Washington University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Mr. Falkenstein is active in the metro Atlanta community and serves on the board of directors of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as well as on the board of The Davis Academy. He was recently named to the Atlanta Business Chronicle's 40 Under 40 listing for 2023, and earlier was selected to participate in Leadership Atlanta's Class of 2024 program.

Additionally, the Company announced the appointment of Wangdali (Wali) Bacdayan and Kristine (Kris) K. Malkoski to its Board of Directors effective on Oct.1.

"On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to welcome Wali and Kris as the newest members of the Aaron's board," said John Robinson, chair of The Aaron's Company Board of Directors. "We believe their strong backgrounds and independence make them excellent additions to the board as it carries out its oversight responsibilities, and we look forward to their guidance as we continue to move Aaron's forward and deliver on our mission of enhancing people's lives by providing easy access to high-quality products through affordable lease and retail purchase options."

Mr. Bacdayan is a private investor and entrepreneur. He also currently serves as a Venture Partner for Delta-v Capital, a technology-focused growth capital investment firm. In addition, he is the principal investor and co-founder of Millie's Homemade Ice Cream and Southern Steer Franchising.

Previously, Mr. Bacdayan was a co-founding managing principal of Incline Equity Partners. Before that, he was a partner at PNC Equity Partners and a financial analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group of Dean Witter Reynolds Inc.

Mr. Bacdayan holds a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from Washington and Lee University, as well as an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He will join the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Ms. Malkoski currently serves as aegment CEO, learning & development at Newell Brands, where she manages global brands including Graco, Sharpie, Paper Mate, Expo, Nuk, and Elmer's. Ms. Malkoski also oversees Newell's go-to-market actions in EMEA and Asian emerging markets and serves as a member of the Newell Executive Committee.

Previously, Ms. Malkoski served as CEO, Americas for Arc International, a privately held company active in the food service, retail, and business-to-business industry segments. Prior to that, she was President and Chief Commercial Officer for World Kitchen, a private equity-owned company that made and distributed kitchenware products.

Before that, she held senior positions at Sears Holdings Corporation, Ubiquity Brands, and Pharmaceutical Corporation of America. Ms. Malkoski began her career at Procter & Gamble, where she held several management and leadership roles.

Ms. Malkoski holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska. She will join the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee.