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Posted January 14, 2020

Grainger online business president to leave company

David Rawlinson, senior vice president and president, Grainger Online Business, will leave the company Feb. 1, to become the CEO of Nielsen's Global Connect business, a newly formed public company.


David RawlinsonRawlinson joined Grainger as vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary in 2012, and progressively expanded his experiences, taking on leadership of the online business in 2015.

"We congratulate David on his opportunity and wish him well in his future endeavors," said DG Macpherson, Grainger chairman and CEO. "The online portfolio has strong leadership and a talented team that is driving solid performance. We are working through our succession plan and expect to make an announcement shortly. I'm confident MonotaRO and Zoro will continue their successful growth by expanding the product line and adding more customers."

Grainger's online portfolio includes MonotaRO in Japan and Zoro in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States. MonotaRO and Zoro make purchasing easy through a streamlined and transparent online relationship that provides access to everything a customer needs. In 2018, the online portfolio revenue grew by 24 percent to $1.5 billion. And over the last four years, the portfolio has profitably grown revenue at a compound annual rate of 26 percent.

The leaders of the Zoro and MonotaRO businesses will operate under Macpherson's leadership until a successor is named.

Rawlinson was appointed to the board of Nielsen Holdings in February 2017. He served a presidential appointment as a White House Fellow and held positions in both the Bush and Obama Administrations. In the Obama Administration, Rawlinson served as a Senior Advisor for Economic Policy with the White House National Economic Council where he worked on the financial crisis and initiatives to spur new business growth.

Rawlinson holds a B.A. from The Citadel, a J.D. from the University of South Carolina and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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