Kathleen Carroll

Kathleen Carroll was named Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
(CHRO) in December 2018. Her responsibilities include aligning and implementing talent
and workplace strategies across the enterprise that support a high-performance culture
and strengthen the company’s brand as an employer of choice.
Kathleen has more than 25 years of experience in leading human resources and
organizational strategies to drive business results. Her expertise encompasses end-to-end
talent acquisition, learning and development, employment branding, succession
planning, compensation and benefits, diversity and inclusion, and related metrics and
analytics.
Prior to Grainger Kathleen was with First Midwest Bank, where she served as Executive
Vice President and CHRO. Prior to that, she held a number of leadership positions with
Aon Corporation, which included Global Head of Talent Acquisition and HR Lead for
Mergers and Acquisitions. Kathleen also had management positions with Sprint and
PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she began her career in consulting and accounting.
Kathleen earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Missouri and
received a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University’s
Kellogg School of Management.
She also is a board member of Leadership Greater Chicago and the International
Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation.
W.W. Grainger, Inc., with 2018 sales of $11.2 billion, is North America’s leading broad
line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products (MRO), with operations also
in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. For more information about the company, visit
www.grainger.com/investor.