Leaders Playbook: Inside Lowe’s

Podcast: Squawk Pod (CNBC)
Date: January 28, 2026
Host: Julia Boorstin
Featured Guest: Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe’s
Additional Speaker: Janice Dupree, Head of Human Resources, Lowe’s

Episode Overview

This episode of Leaders Playbook explores the remarkable transformation of Lowe’s under CEO Marvin Ellison. The conversation traces Ellison’s journey from humble beginnings to the C-suite, his leadership philosophy rooted in servant leadership, the decisive modernization of Lowe’s infrastructure and culture, and how these efforts sustained Lowe’s through the pandemic and into record growth. The episode offers insights for aspiring leaders, focusing on employee empowerment, clarity of vision, and the importance of work ethic and faith.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reviving Lowe’s: The Turnaround

• Immediate Challenges at Lowe’s ([02:27]):

  • Lowe’s was dated and focused on traditional brick-and-mortar retail, with a 30-year-old IT system and outdated e-commerce platform.
  • Ellison’s priority: Modernize the supply chain, IT, and digital infrastructure to compete in the evolving retail landscape.
  • Quote: “If you don’t have modernized supply chain, IT infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and e-commerce, then you are woefully behind.” – Marvin Ellison [02:47]

• Decisive Action — $1.7 Billion Infrastructure Investment ([03:10]):

  • Ellison’s early commitment to a massive upgrade was non-negotiable for sustainability.
  • Quote: “If a retailer doesn’t have an efficient supply chain, they cannot operate in a sustainable fashion to serve customers at the right level.” – Marvin Ellison [03:19]

• Moving Fast on Supply Chain ([03:43]):

  • Before the upgrade, Lowe’s sold appliances inefficiently out of storage trailers.
  • Modernization allowed Lowe’s to become the largest seller of major appliances in the U.S.

• Leadership Philosophy: Decisiveness and Simplicity ([04:07], [07:12]):

  • Ellison strives to build “a company I wish I could have worked for.”
  • Believes fundamental retail principles and simplicity drive execution and success.
  • Quote: “Simple actually works.” – Marvin Ellison [07:22]

2. Culture Shift: Bottom-up Leadership

• First Days in Stores—not the Office ([04:34]):

  • Ellison traveled incognito, meeting associates and suppliers on the ground.
  • Modelled that learning and validation come from direct interaction, not just executive presentations.
  • Quote: “If your CEO can spend his first week physically in the stores, then maybe you all should do the same.” – Marvin Ellison [05:11]

• Empowering Associates ([05:35]-[06:12]):

  • Janice Dupree notes transformation began when associates in the field, not corporate, were given a voice.
  • Pivoted the company from top-down direction to “giving voice to the 300,000 [frontline workers] and not the smaller group sitting at corporate.”

• Inspiration from Personal Experience ([06:22]):

  • Ellison’s early retail experience and his mother’s time on a factory floor impressed on him the value of listening to all employees.

3. Pandemic Leadership & Agile Response

• First Priority: Employee and Store Safety ([10:02]):

  • COVID-19 forced urgent policy changes to ensure hourly associates received pay if quarantined.
  • Quote: “Our jobs in corporate is to serve the people who serve our customers.” – Janice Dupree [10:17]

• Supply Chain Stress-Tested ([10:54]):

  • The infrastructure Ellison invested in became crucial as demand and complexity surged.

• Rapid Innovation under Pressure ([11:19]-[12:01]):

  • Lowe’s built curbside pickup from scratch during the pandemic.
  • The urgency revealed excessive bureaucracy in capital and tech development approvals.
  • Quote: “What we learned from the pandemic is that a lot of steps… were really impeding speed and progress.” – Marvin Ellison [12:14]

• Record Revenue and Leaner Operations ([12:28]):

  • Post-pandemic, streamlined processes and supply chain upgrades enabled Lowe’s to post record performance.

4. Alignment & Problem Solving

• Ellison’s Alignment Quiz ([12:58]):
  • Uses five diagnostic questions to test leadership alignment:
    1. Mission of the company/department
    2. Top 3 execution items
    3. Top 3 success metrics
    4. Define the customer
    5. Define the competition
  • Bonus: What is the purpose of the company?
  • Quote: “If you can’t define a mission, it’s like being on a destination with no end in sight. And so it starts with clarity.” – Marvin Ellison [13:42]

5. Servant Leadership: Roots and Practice

• Family Example & Core Beliefs ([15:28]):

  • Learned from his father, who always ate last to serve the family.
  • Applies decision-making filter: “How does this impact our frontline associates? Then, how does this impact our customers?”
  • Quote: “[My father] was the servant leader of the house… To me, that is the greatest definition of being a servant leader.” – Marvin Ellison [15:32]

• Giving Back—Bonuses Tied to Performance ([16:34]):

  • $80 million in 2025 bonuses for store managers and assistants.
  • Ellison wants employees to feel the benefit of company success.
  • Quote: “If we have an earnings outperformance, the first thing we do is figure out how much of that can we give back to our associates.” – Marvin Ellison [16:48]

• Retention & Customer Experience ([17:21]):

  • Investing in and recognizing frontline employees (associates) drives retention, customer satisfaction, and shareholder value.

6. Personal Journey: Humility, Faith, and Resilience

• Background and Values ([17:50]-[18:38]):

  • Grew up in rural Tennessee, worked multiple jobs to pay for college.
  • Taught to not let circumstances limit vision.
  • Quote: “My dad is my ultimate role model… one generation he can go from Jim Crow segregation to seeing his son be the chairman CEO of two Fortune 500 companies.” – Marvin Ellison [18:16]

• Respect for All Roles ([18:48]):

  • First jobs included unloading trucks and being a janitor.
  • Insists on never defining people by their job title.
  • Quote: “You can’t look at the job and try to define the person.” – Marvin Ellison [19:11]

• Authenticity, Faith, and Leadership ([19:47]-[20:14]):

  • Faith taught by parents is inseparable from Ellison’s leadership.
  • Signs emails “God bless,” not to push religion, but as an authentic part of himself.
  • Handles CEO-pressure by relying on faith for decision-making calm.

• Tackling Tough Jobs ([22:10]):

  • Repeatedly took roles left by fired executives, positioning himself as a turnaround leader.
  • Emphasizes confidence, resilience, and the “power of people.”

7. Advice for Aspiring Leaders

• Vision and Self-Belief ([23:22]):
  • Don’t let your environment limit your aspirations.
  • Own setbacks—no victim mentality.
  • Quote: “There is nothing special about me. I just believed in my heart of hearts that anything I desired to achieve, I could. And I’ve never been a victim… What can I do to get better?” – Marvin Ellison [23:32]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Turnarounds:
  “The way you get people to notice is you take jobs that nobody else wants.” – Marvin Ellison [14:07], [22:13]
• On Culture:
  “The culture shift was we gave voice to the 300,000 and not the smaller group sitting at corporate. And that is where the transformation began.” – Janice Dupree [06:06]
• On Pandemic Response:
  “If they're going out on Covid, they're going to keep getting paid.” – Janice Dupree [10:36]
• On Simplicity:
  “Getting the company grounded on a couple of fundamental things, we actually called it retail fundamentals… we start to see really good improvement in execution and our results follow.” – Marvin Ellison [07:32]
• On Family Inspiration:
  “My mother told me… just go read Proverbs. There's always wisdom in those words.” – Marvin Ellison [21:20]
• On Humility:
  “You can't look at the job and try to define the person.” – Marvin Ellison [19:11]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:27] – Ellison on challenges and infrastructure overhaul
• [03:10] – Decision to invest $1.7B in supply chain
• [04:34] – Why the CEO started his job on the sales floor
• [06:22] – Inspiration behind bottom-up culture
• [07:12] – Power of simplicity in strategy
• [10:02] – Leadership through the pandemic
• [11:19] – Curbside pickup & pandemic pivots
• [12:58] – Alignment quiz for management teams
• [15:28] – Servant leadership’s personal roots
• [16:34] – Linking bonuses to store performance
• [17:50] – Ellison’s childhood and values
• [18:48] – Lessons from frontline work
• [19:47] – Why faith matters in leadership
• [22:10] – Taking on challenging turnaround jobs
• [23:22] – Advice for young professionals

Summary

This episode delivers an in-depth profile of Marvin Ellison’s transformative leadership at Lowe’s. Guided by formative experiences, a focus on empowering frontline workers, and a deep belief in servant leadership, Ellison navigated Lowe’s through digital modernization and unprecedented pandemic challenges. His story underscores the impact of humility, decisiveness, and clarity—and the belief that culture change and commercial success go hand in hand. The advice and reflective moments offered here are as relevant to aspiring leaders as to seasoned executives.