AD, the $41 billion contractor and industrial products wholesale buying/marketing group, announced today that Marisol Fernandez will join AD as president, Industrial and Safety Division - U.S. effective May 13, 2019.

Fernandez comes to AD from Bunzl where she held the position of regional vice president with responsibility for its growing U.S. portfolio of safety businesses.

"I am pleased to welcome Marisol to the AD organization after successful careers with Bunzl, Essendant, and Grainger,” said Jack Templin, president, Industrial Business Unit and chief programs officer. “Over the past 5 years, AD Industrial & Safety members more than doubled their sales, and on top of that we recently completed mergers with IDC-USA from the bearing and power transmission industry and IDI, a Canadian industrial and safety group. And I believe Marisol’s 20-year track record of performance and integrity in the industrial and safety channel makes her well suited to lead the division to continued growth. Marisol is a strong addition to the AD family and we are thrilled to have her on the team.”

In this position, Fernandez will be responsible for all AD operations in the Industrial and Safety Division in the United States including business strategy, member/supplier relations, and overall financial results. In collaboration with key stakeholders, she will manage and execute AD’s ongoing growth plans for the division. 

Fernandez holds an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and has several certifications in project management. She is also a Six Sigma Black Belt and proudly served our country as a member of the United States Air Force. In addition, Fernandez is actively engaged with the Industrial Supply Association where she serves in a leadership capacity for the Women Industrial Supply Executives (W.I.S.E.) Network Group and currently serves as an executive committee member on its board of directors. She joins the growing ranks of multi-lingual AD associates as someone who is fluent in both English and Spanish.

“I am honored to join the ranks of the AD organization. AD’s mission, values and customer-centric approach resonates across our industry,"  said Fernandez. "I am excited about working closely with our elite team of associates, strong independent distributors and supplier partners to build upon AD’s history of success. I believe in our purpose and am committed to helping our members to continue to outperform their competition. Together, We Win!”