In July of 2014 Mr. Blanco was involved in a serious bicycling accident and the injuries he sustained required an extended period of convalescence. During Mr. Blanco’s absence from the Company the board of directors appointed Rob Brown, the Company’s CFO, as acting CEO. Other senior executives of the Company also assumed expanded roles as required.
“I want to thank all of our employees for their efforts and leadership during the period I was unexpectedly away from the Company,” commented Mr. Blanco. “During my absence Hardwoods reported strong second and third quarter financial results, continued to take advantage of the improving US housing market, and successfully executed on our core strategies to grow import sales and capitalize on significant opportunities in the commercial market.”
Concurrent with Mr. Blanco resuming his duties, the Company announced the appointment of Mr. Brown to the position of Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) of the Company.
Mr. Brown has over 15 years’ experience working in the building materials and distribution business with MacMillan Bloedel, Weyerhaeuser, and the Company. Mr. Brown has been Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company since 2004.
Replacing Mr. Brown as CFO is Mr. Faiz Karmally, currently the Company’s Corporate Controller. Mr. Karmally joined the Company in 2014, and was previously a Senior Manager with PWC.
Hardwoods is one of North America's largest wholesale distributors of hardwood lumber and related sheet good products, operating a network of 33 locations in the U.S. and Canada.