Jul 01, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Wolseley plc announced Tuesday that CEO Chip Hornsby has left his post, as Daily Press reported. Hornsby, of Mathews County, joined the company, headquartered in the United Kingdom, in 1982 through the acquisition of Newport News-based Ferguson Enterprises. He has served as CEO since Aug. 1, 2006, steering the company during the worst housing downturn in decades. Wolseley is the world's top heating and plumbing distributor to the professional market and a leading supplier of building materials. The company has been struggling under a high debt load and has been cutting costs — and jobs — over the past year. Hornsby could not be reached Tuesday for comment. He spent 31 years in the construction materials distribution industry, Wolseley said in a news release. Hornsby's career at Ferguson started in 1978 as a management trainee. He became president and CEO of Ferguson in 2001 and then chief executive of North American operations before taking over as Wolseley's group chief executive, according to the company. "Over the past 31 years, he has worked to build Ferguson into the world-class company it is today," John Stegeman, president and chief executive officer of Ferguson, said in a statement. Hornsby's total compensation in 2008 was reportedly more than $2 million. He will be succeeded by Ian Meakins, formerly chief executive of Travelex Holdings Ltc., an international foreign exchange and payments business.