Bolingbrook, IL — Ulta Beauty has appointed Bruce L. Hartman as CFO, effective September 7, 2012. He joins the company from The Yankee Candle Company.
Bolingbrook, IL — Ulta Beauty has appointed Bruce L. Hartman as chief financial officer, effective September 7, 2012. He will report to Chuck Rubin, president and chief executive officer.
Hartman is an experienced CFO with extensive financial and operational expertise in retailing, consumer products and real estate. He most recently served as executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief financial officer of The Yankee Candle Company. Prior to joining Yankee Candle in 2008, Hartman was the executive vice president and CFO of Cushman & Wakefield from 2006 to 2008.
Hartman is a retail industry veteran, having served in a variety of senior leadership roles at Foot Locker, Inc. from 1996 to 2005. He was named CFO in 1999. Previously, Hartman spent 10 years with the May Department Stores, in CFO and controller roles with Filene’s, Famous-Barr, Robinsons-May, Lord & Taylor, and G. Fox & Company.
Hartman will succeed Gregg Bodnar, who has held the role of CFO at Ulta Beauty since 2006. In March, Bodnar announced his plans to step down from his position to allow him to relocate to Michigan to attend to a family health issue, and to remain in the position to assist in the hiring and onboarding of a new CFO. He will step down as CFO on September 6, 2012 and will continue to work with Ulta to ensure a smooth transition.
“I want to express my deep gratitude to Gregg Bodnar for his remarkable contributions to Ulta’s growth and success over the past 6 years,” says Rubin. “During Gregg’s tenure, Ulta grew from a 200-store chain to a 500-store chain today, added more than a billion dollars in annual sales, and improved its profit margin by 600 basis points.”
“We are thrilled that an experienced CFO of Bruce’s caliber is joining the Ulta leadership team,” says Rubin. “As Ulta matures from a 500-store retailer to a 1,200-store business over the coming years, Bruce’s significant expertise in scaling businesses and real estate will be extremely valuable in helping our company expand its leadership in the beauty industry.”
Ulta Beauty offers more than 20,000 beauty products, bath and body products and salon styling tools, as well as salon haircare products. Ulta Beauty also offers a full-service salon in all of its stores. As of July 28, 2012, the company operated 489 retail stores across 45 states. For more information, visit www.ulta.com.