August 23, 2025
The proud CEO hasn’t been silent about his blooming success, highlighting all the ways the company has grown under his leadership like putting employees on the track for growth.
Recently celebrating seven years as Lowe’s CEO, Marvin Ellison has taken the home improvement company to higher heights in addition to performing well on Wall Street, AfroTech reports.
Ellison made history as the first Black executive to serve as CEO of two Fortune 500 companies — joining Lowe’s in 2018 and previously working with JCPenney. Also having a hand at leadership roles, including serving as a director at Target and executive vice president at The Home Depot, he celebrated his leadership milestone by honoring hard work and joining some of his thousands of employees who make Lowe’s stores such a pleasant environment. “I celebrated my 7-year anniversary at Lowe’s the same way I began – in the aisles of our stores. It was an honor to receive my service badge from the hard-working Associates at Store 2304 in Chicago, led by Store Manager Brian Smagacz, DM Tim Lucas, and RVP Charles Reasonova,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
“I thank God for his continued blessings & favor!”
The proud CEO hasn’t been silent about his blooming success, highlighting all the ways the company has grown under his leadership, like putting employees on the track for growth. “Lowe’s has committed $50 million, over five years, to train 50,000 individuals in skill trades. There is a critical shortage of skilled trades workers in the US, and Lowe’s is honored to be part of the solution,” he wrote.
Ellison’s leadership also proved its worth in the stock market. Billionaire Africa celebrated Lowe’s strong performance on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), raising the stock by 16.1% — from $215 in July to $249.7 — in just one month. In addition to Lowe’s generating $83.7 billion in revenue and roughly $7 billion in profits, Ellison is among nine other leaders on the list of top Black CEOs leading a Fortune 500 company in 2025.
It could be his love for blue-collar and lower-level workers that makes him such a good leader. Ellison has been a strong and vocal advocate for Gen Z workers to keep their eyes on the cash register and not on the corporate corner offices as much. During the Business Roundtable’s CEO Workforce Forum in Washington, DC, in June 2025, the CEO touched on the dangers of AI coming in to take jobs and gave a sneak peek at the advice he offers some of today’s workers. “AI isn’t going to fix a hole in your roof. It’s not going to respond to an electrical issue in your home. It’s not going to stop your water heater from leaking,” he said to the crowd.
“When young people come to me and they desire to work in the corporate office, my advice to them is: Stay as close to the cash register as you can. Stay close to the customers, because you will always have employment opportunities to grow.”
But there are some positives to having eyes set for the corporate lifestyle. Kyle C., an outlet supervisor, celebrated completing his Lowe’s corporate internship with the opportunity to introduce the CEO, having started as a cashier in 2019. “In 2019, I was a cashier. If you had told me that six years later, I would be finishing my corporate internship introducing our CEO, I might not have believed you,” he wrote.
“But that’s where I’m at.”
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