Marvin Ellison

Marvin Ellison
Birthplace	Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	Chairman, President and CEO of Lowe's Companies
Known for	Chairman, President and CEO of Lowe's Companies, Inc.

Marvin R. Ellison is an American business executive who serves as the chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Lowe's Companies, Inc., one of the largest home-improvement retail chains in the world. His career trajectory — from an entry-level stock boy earning $4.35 per hour to the helm of a Fortune 500 company valued at approximately $161 billion — has made him one of the most prominent figures in American retail. Ellison is the only Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company leading a firm of Lowe's size, a distinction that has brought attention to both his personal story and broader questions about corporate diversity in the United States. Before joining Lowe's, Ellison held executive positions at J.C. Penney and spent more than a decade at The Home Depot, where he rose to become executive vice president of U.S. stores. Throughout his career, Ellison has credited his success to a willingness to take on assignments that others avoided and to a leadership philosophy centered on simplicity, accountability, and frontline engagement.

Early Life

Marvin Ellison grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He has spoken publicly about his modest upbringing and the formative influence it had on his work ethic and professional ambitions. Ellison began working at a young age, taking on jobs that included janitorial work and entry-level retail positions. In interviews, he has described how his early experiences in low-wage employment shaped his understanding of frontline workers and the importance of treating all employees with respect, regardless of their position in a corporate hierarchy.

Ellison has frequently recounted that he did not come from a privileged background and lacked what he has called an "impressive pedigree" or a standout résumé early in his career. He has said that this reality forced him to find alternative ways to distinguish himself from peers who had more conventional credentials. "I had to find a way to differentiate myself," Ellison stated in a 2025 interview, explaining that he deliberately sought out difficult or unglamorous tasks that other employees avoided, a strategy he credits with helping him gain the attention of supervisors and advance within organizations.

His upbringing in Memphis, a city with deep roots in the civil rights movement and a significant African American population, has also been noted in profiles of Ellison as contextual background to his later prominence as a Black executive leading a major American corporation.

Career

Early Retail Career and Target

Ellison's entry into the retail industry came through an hourly position earning $4.35 per hour, the federal minimum wage at the time. He worked in various entry-level retail roles, including stock positions and store-level operations. Ellison has spoken about his time at Target as part of his early career development, describing it as a period during which he learned the fundamentals of retail operations and customer service.

During this phase of his career, Ellison developed what he has described as his core professional strategy: volunteering for the jobs that nobody else wanted. He has explained that by taking on undesirable tasks — whether physically demanding store work, late-night shifts, or roles in underperforming locations — he was able to demonstrate a level of commitment that set him apart from colleagues with more polished backgrounds. This approach, he has said, was born out of necessity rather than any particular strategic sophistication, but it proved effective in gaining him promotions and visibility within the organizations where he worked.

The Home Depot

Ellison spent more than a decade at The Home Depot, the largest home-improvement retailer in the United States and a direct competitor to Lowe's. During his tenure at The Home Depot, he rose through the ranks to become executive vice president of U.S. stores, a position that gave him oversight of the company's vast domestic retail operations. This role placed Ellison in charge of thousands of stores and hundreds of thousands of employees, providing him with extensive experience in large-scale retail management, supply chain logistics, and the home-improvement sector specifically.

His time at The Home Depot is considered a critical period in his professional development, as it gave him deep familiarity with the home-improvement market that would later prove directly relevant to his leadership of Lowe's. Ellison gained experience managing store operations, driving sales performance, and navigating the competitive dynamics between the two dominant players in the home-improvement retail industry.

J.C. Penney

After leaving The Home Depot, Ellison became the chief executive officer of J.C. Penney, the department store chain. His appointment at J.C. Penney represented his first role as the top executive of a major publicly traded retailer. J.C. Penney had been struggling with declining sales, store closures, and increasing competition from both online retailers and other brick-and-mortar competitors. Ellison's tenure at J.C. Penney, while relatively brief, provided him with the experience of leading a large organization through a period of significant operational challenge and strategic repositioning.

Lowe's Companies

Ellison was named president and chief executive officer of Lowe's Companies in 2018, and he subsequently also assumed the role of chairman of the board. His appointment made him one of the few Black CEOs of a Fortune 500 company and the only Black CEO leading a corporation of Lowe's scale at the time of his hiring.

Strategic Direction and Operational Focus

Upon taking the leadership of Lowe's, Ellison implemented a series of strategic initiatives aimed at improving the company's operational performance and competitive positioning relative to The Home Depot. One of the central themes of his leadership has been a focus on the professional contractor segment of the business, known within the industry as the "Pro" customer. In a 2025 interview with Barron's, Ellison discussed the company's efforts to gain market share among contractors, a customer segment that tends to generate larger and more frequent transactions than do-it-yourself (DIY) consumers.

Ellison has also overseen the integration of technology into Lowe's operations. The company has adopted artificial intelligence tools in multiple areas of the business, including the training of store associates and the enhancement of customer service experiences. According to the Barron's report, Lowe's has used AI to help train employees and assist customers, reflecting a broader trend in the retail industry toward the application of machine learning and data analytics to improve operational efficiency and the shopping experience.

Housing Market Strategy

A significant element of Ellison's strategic outlook has been his preparation for a potential rebound in the housing market. The home-improvement retail sector is closely tied to housing market conditions, including home sales, home prices, and homeowner investment in renovation and maintenance projects. In 2025, Ellison indicated that Lowe's was positioning itself to capitalize on a housing market recovery, suggesting that the company's investments in inventory, store capabilities, and the Pro customer segment were designed to ensure readiness when market conditions improved.

Views on Workforce and Technology

Ellison has been vocal about his views on the intersection of technology and the workforce, particularly as they relate to artificial intelligence. In a June 2025 interview with Fortune, he addressed concerns among younger workers about the potential for AI to displace jobs, cautioning against an overemphasis on technology-oriented career paths at the expense of trades and customer-facing roles. "AI isn't going to fix a hole in your roof," Ellison stated, emphasizing the continued importance of skilled trades and in-person service in the home-improvement sector. His comments were directed at Generation Z workers and were interpreted as a broader argument for the durability of human-facing occupations in an era of increasing automation.

Leadership Philosophy

Ellison has articulated a leadership philosophy that emphasizes simplicity, directness, and accountability. In a January 2026 interview with CNBC, he stated that one of the most common leadership mistakes is "overcomplicating the work," arguing that effective leaders should focus on clear communication and straightforward execution rather than elaborate strategic frameworks.

He has also repeatedly stressed the importance of willingness to do difficult or unglamorous work as a differentiator in corporate environments. His advice to aspiring leaders has centered on the idea that volunteering for undesirable assignments is a reliable way to gain attention and advancement, particularly for individuals who may lack elite educational credentials or professional connections. "When you don't have an impressive pedigree," Ellison has said, taking on the jobs nobody wants is a way to "get people to notice you."

This philosophy has been connected by commentators to his own career trajectory, from minimum-wage retail work to the leadership of a Fortune 500 company. Ellison's story has been cited in business media as an example of upward mobility in corporate America, particularly for individuals from non-traditional backgrounds.

Personal Life

Marvin Ellison is from Memphis, Tennessee, and has maintained connections to the city throughout his career. He has been identified in multiple media reports as the only Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company of Lowe's size, a distinction that has brought attention to questions of racial representation in American corporate leadership. Ellison has spoken publicly about the significance of his position in the context of diversity and inclusion in the business world, though he has also emphasized that he wishes to be judged primarily on the basis of his operational results and leadership effectiveness.

In public appearances and interviews, Ellison has presented himself as grounded by his working-class origins. He has cited his early experiences in minimum-wage jobs as foundational to his management style and his empathy for frontline retail workers. He has also discussed the importance of mentorship and the role that supervisors and managers played in his career development, particularly in his early years in retail.

Recognition

Ellison's rise from entry-level retail work to the leadership of one of America's largest corporations has generated significant media attention. He has been profiled in numerous major business publications, including Fortune, Barron's, CNBC, and Yahoo Finance, among others.

His career has been described as one of the most notable examples of upward mobility in modern American business. Media coverage has frequently highlighted the contrast between his beginnings as a $4.35-per-hour retail worker and his current position leading a company with a market capitalization in the range of $161 billion. Business media outlets have used his story to illustrate lessons about career advancement, the value of frontline experience, and the potential for non-traditional career paths to lead to senior executive positions.

Ellison's status as the top-ranking Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company has also been recognized in discussions of corporate diversity. Yahoo Finance and other outlets have specifically noted the rarity of his position in the context of the limited number of Black executives who have led Fortune 500 companies throughout history.

His public commentary on topics including artificial intelligence, workforce development, and the housing market has further established him as a prominent voice in the retail industry and in broader discussions about the future of work.

Legacy

As of early 2026, Marvin Ellison's legacy is still being shaped by his ongoing leadership of Lowe's. However, several elements of his career and public profile have already contributed to a notable place in American business history.

His career trajectory from minimum-wage retail worker to Fortune 500 CEO has become one of the most frequently cited examples of corporate upward mobility in the contemporary United States. Business publications and career advice platforms have used his story to illustrate the potential for advancement through hard work, strategic career choices, and a willingness to take on challenging assignments.

Ellison's role as a Black CEO leading a major American corporation has contributed to broader discussions about diversity in corporate leadership. His prominence in this regard has made him a reference point in ongoing debates about representation, opportunity, and systemic barriers in the American corporate world.

Within the home-improvement retail industry, Ellison's strategic emphasis on the professional contractor segment, the adoption of AI and technology tools, and the preparation for a housing market rebound represent significant directional choices for Lowe's that will be evaluated as part of his legacy at the company. His public statements about the durability of skilled trades and human-facing jobs in the age of AI have also positioned him as a distinctive voice in the national conversation about technology and employment.

The career advice Ellison has offered — particularly his repeated emphasis on volunteering for undesirable work and succeeding without elite credentials — has resonated with a broad audience and has been amplified through major media outlets, contributing to his public profile beyond his role as a corporate executive.