The board of directors at Republic has elected Todd Wade, one of its division presidents, to the board and to the CEO position, effective Oct. 2, the Davenport-based company announced in a news release Wednesday, Aug. 23.
Mr. Wade, who joined the wholesale distribution company in 2012 – serving as the president of the Mechanical Division since February 2022, will become only the fourth CEO in Republic’s 107-year history. He will succeed Mark Kilmer, the current CEO.
“Todd’s record of success, integrity and proven leadership skills and experience in sales, vendor relationships, marketing and technology make him highly qualified to lead Republic in driving the company’s growth strategies,” Mr. Kilmer said in the release announcing Mr. Wade’s promotion.
Mr. Kilmer, who turns 65 in December, also will continue to serve on the board of directors.
Mr. Wade will become the first non-family member to lead Republic, which was founded in 1916 by J.S. Kimmel, and later led by Joe Kimmel Jr., who turned the reins over to Mr. Kilmer, his son-in-law, in 1998.
Mr. Wade joined Republic as its chief information officer and later took the lead over marketing and dealer success programs. In 2018, he was promoted to senior vice president of Republic’s Mechanical Division – becoming its president in 2022.
A Quad Cities native, he lives in Bettendorf with his wife of 24 years, Heather, and their four children: Laurel, Asher, Nina and Eden. He attended the University of Iowa majoring in business administration and is enrolled in the University of Iowa’s Enterprise Leadership program.
Mr. Wade holds several IT industry certifications from companies such as Microsoft, Cisco as well as industry certifications from CompTIA. His career as an Information Technology professional has spanned two decades and has included ownership of a consulting firm as well as senior operations management for a SaaS company in the automotive and credit reporting sectors.
Along with his family, he is active in the Quad Cities community, and has served on the national Distributor Advisory Council for YORK as well as the IMARK Electrical Marketing & Technology Committee.
In other board action, Robert P. Smith and Jim Probst were elected to the Republic Board of Directors, also effective Oct. 2.
Mr. Smith was most recently president and CEO of IMARK Electrical and coordinated efforts of IMARK Group verticals in the electrical, HVAC/r and Plumbing space. IMARK Group generates more than $16 billion in sales from 3,000 member locations annually. Prior to IMARK, he served in sales and marketing roles with Legrand North America.
Mr. Probst is currently the president of Quality Home Maintenance (QHM), George Brazil Services, and Patrick Riley Services in Phoenix, Arizona. QHM is one of the largest residential services contractors in Arizona with annual revenues exceeding $47 million in 2022. Mr. Probst has held numerous senior management roles in early-stage, high growth organizations.
Both directors bring a depth of experience to the Republic Board of Directors and will play a key role in guiding the organization as it expands its footprint, the company said.
Featured earlier in a QCBJ cover story, Republic has over a century of experience providing products and support to a broad base of primarily HVAC and electrical contractors, as well as industrial and OEM customers.
The company supplies more than 40,000 products including residential and commercial HVAC systems, switchgear, controls, lighting solutions, and related parts and tools. Headquartered in Davenport, Republic serves more than 1,000 customers out of five locations across Iowa and Illinois. It also provides logistical support, training, technical assistance, marketing support and other value-added services.
