Hal Lawton

Lawton was born in Kingsport, Tennessee, in 1974, where he attended Sullivan South High School. His father worked at Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport. Lawton grew up playing basketball at the Boys and Girls Club, delivering papers for the Kingsport Times-News and attending St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. [5]

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.[6][7][8] He holds a Master of Business Administration from University of Virginia Darden School of Business .[9][10][11][12]

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, including President Online and SVP Merchandising.[13][14][15][16] From August 2015 to September 2017, Lawton was the SVP of eBay North America. From September 2017 to December 2019, he served as the president for Macy's.[17][18][19][20]

Since January 2020, Lawton is serving as the chief executive officer and president of Tractor Supply Company and is 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.[21] The company was deemed an essential business.[21]

Lawton is also a member of the Business Roundtable, National Retail Federation board of directors, and Sealed Air Corporation board of directors. He previously served on the board of Buffalo Wild Wings.[22][23][24][25][26]

Lawton was a guest columnist in The Tennessean on April 7, 2021, with "How Tractor Supply Company is helping vaccinate rural American against COVID-19".[27] Lawton wrote an Op-Ed in The Tennessean on October 20, 2021, with "Why businesses should follow Tractor Supply’s push for diversity, inclusion, and climate change prevention".[28]