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Edward Decker

Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Home Depot (The)

Search every verified Edward Decker interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Ted Decker, chairman, president, and CEO of The Home Depot, recently discussed the company's focus on its workforce and the skilled trades on *The Way I Heard It* with Mike Rowe. He highlighted the company's "inverted pyramid" leadership philosophy, which places associates at the top, and its commitment to supporting trade education. Decker noted that The Home Depot's program has provided over $50 million in grants, including gifting tools to high schools to help establish shop classes, and he pointed to the availability of Pell Grants for trade school tuition as a significant development. Decker also addressed the housing market, stating that housing turnover is currently at a 40-year low of around 3%, compared to a historical average of 4.5%. He emphasized the economic importance of housing, noting that it represents a $50 trillion asset class and contributes 15 to 18% of the U.S. GDP. His comments reflect a focus on both the company's role in supporting the trades and the broader economic factors affecting the home improvement industry.

Recent appearances

Notable quotes

“Right now housing turnover unfortunately is at a 40-year low. So that 4 and a half percent average, we're at like 3% right now. So that's a million and a half, 2 million houses not turning every year. And that suppresses GDP because you're just not getting all that activity.”

“Housing alone as an asset class is $50 trillion. I mean, I don't know, maybe global equities would be bigger. There are very few asset classes that are bigger than US housing. Then as a contribution to GDP every year, depending on how broadly you define housing, so if you include rents and utility payments etc. associated with that house, it's 15 to 18% of GDP. It's an incredibly important part of the US economy.”

“We think there's about a 400,000 person shortage in skilled trades in the country. We're also probably short, you know, I've seen anywhere between two and four, maybe even as many as 5 million housing units. They were short. It's one of the reasons house prices have gone up so much over the last several years. We simply have a shortage of housing and if you ask builders their number one issue with building more homes”

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