CEO of Wolseley to speak at CNU

News Release - Aug. 24, 2006

Public's Contact for publication:
Clare Maliniak
Joseph W. Luter, III School of Business
(757) 594-7184

Media Contact:
Karen L. Gill
Office of Communications and Public Relations
(757) 594-8428

"Chip" Hornsby, group CEO of Wolseley plc, will speak at a public forum on Sept. 7 at Christopher Newport University.

(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) — Claude A. S. “Chip” Hornsby III, group chief executive of Wolseley plc, will address a university and community forum as a Visiting Executive-in-Residence 2-3 p.m. Sept. 7 at Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center for the Arts Music and Theatre Hall. Hornby will discuss corporate citizenship and philanthropy. The event is free and open to the public. The Visiting Executive-in-Residence program of the Joseph W. Luter, III School of Business provides an opportunity for a CEO to spend an entire day interacting with faculty and students of the University. The executive meets with student leaders, lectures in several classes and addresses the University community. "Mr. Hornsby's day in residence presents an extraordinary opportunity for our students to engage with the CEO of one of Fortune Magazine's Global 500 corporations," said Dr. Donna Mottilla, dean of the Joseph W. Luter, III School of Business at CNU. "Mr. Hornsby has been a longtime friend of CNU, and the Luter School looks forward to hosting his visit."

Hornsby directs the worldwide operations of the $20.8 billion business that is the world’s largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors. A leading supplier of building materials in North America, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, Wolseley has more than 60,000 employees and operates in 14 countries.

Hornsby was educated at Menchville High School in Newport News and graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree.

He joined Ferguson in 1978 as a management trainee in Charlottesville, and was promoted to president/general manager of the Atlanta location in 1982. In 1987 he became regional manager for the Southeast region. In 1997 he became senior vice president of Branch Operations and moved to Newport News. In 2001, he became president and chief executive officer of Ferguson. In August 2005, Hornsby was appointed chief executive officer of Wolseley North America. He continues to serve on the Wolseley plc Board and will continue in the role as president and chief executive officer of Ferguson. Hornsby also is a member of the CNU Board of Visitors.

For more information about the forum, contact Clare Maliniak, Joseph W. Luter, III School of Business, at (757) 594-7184.