internal
Daniel L. Florness
Chief Executive Officer
Executive
2 yr
9 reports
Fastenal Company ·FAST
Sales-heavy CEO span reflects Fastenal’s decentralized model
Wholesalers · Fortune #492 · Hybrid structure · 21K employees · Winona, Minnesota
View as of:
6
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 7)
2.5
Avg span
tight
3
Max depth
3 levels
3.5 yr
Avg tenure
stable vs FY2024
83%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-12-31 · 10-K
Revenue
$8.2B
Operating income
$1.7B
Net income
$1.3B
Total assets
$5.1B
Shares out
1.15B
Sourced from Fastenal Company DEF 14A · filed 2026-02-25 ↗ View on SEC
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Fastenal Company organizational chart
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Sales-heavy CEO span reflects Fastenal’s decentralized model. This page maps Fastenal’s executive structure, highlighting multiple senior sales leaders, functional EVPs, and governance context, with analysis and peer comparison for quick organizational insight.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Daniel L. Florness departed as Chief Executive Officer
Announced step-down effective July 16, 2026
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Add Chief Operating Officer Introduce a COO to consolidate operations and sales execution, reducing CEO span.
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The people
Who's running this
8 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
internal
Jeffery M. Watts
President and Chief Sales Officer
Sales
2 yr
2 reports
internal
Anthony P. Broersma
Executive Vice President Operations
Operations
2 yr
0 reports
Max H. Tunnicliff
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Finance
1 yr
0 reports
internal
James C. Jansen
Executive Vice President Manufacturing
Manufacturing
10 yr
0 reports
internal
Noelle J. Oas
Executive Vice President Human Resources
Human Resources
3 yr
0 reports
internal
Donnalee K. Papenfuss
Executive Vice President Strategy and Communications
Strategy
2 yr
0 reports
internal
John L. Soderberg
Senior Executive Vice President Information Technology
Information Technology
5 yr
0 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 2 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
Daniel L. Florness $4.2M
- Base salary
- $750K
- Stock awards
- $861K
- Option awards
- $2.57M
- Other
- $3K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
Max H. Tunnicliff $466K
- Base salary
- $63K
- Bonus
- $225K
- Stock awards
- $179K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The businesses
How Fastenal Company divides the work
4 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Sales
9K employees
President and Chief Sales Officer (Jeffery M. Watts)
Leads global customer acquisition, contract accounts, and site-based selling.
Operations
6K employees
Executive Vice President Operations (Anthony P. Broersma)
Oversees supply chain, logistics, procurement, and distribution.
Manufacturing & Industrial Services
3K employees
Executive Vice President Manufacturing (James C. Jansen)
Manages manufacturing, industrial services, quality, and aerospace operations.
Information Technology
1K employees
Senior Executive Vice President Information Technology (John L. Soderberg)
Supports digital platforms, eBusiness, and infrastructure.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
Fastenal’s most distinctive structural feature is its unusually sales-heavy executive span, with multiple senior sales leaders reporting directly into the top team.
The CEO oversees a broad mix of functional and commercial leaders, but sales leadership is split into U.S., contract, and international scopes rather than consolidated under a single P&L owner.
This reflects Fastenal’s long-standing decentralized, branch- and site-driven operating model, where local sales execution is core to value creation. Operations, manufacturing, IT, and HR are centralized at the EVP level, while sales remains fragmented to preserve proximity to customers and end markets.
The structure trades simplicity for responsiveness: coordination costs are higher, but decision-making authority remains close to revenue generation, consistent with Fastenal’s historical growth model.
- Multiple senior sales leaders report to CEO
- No standalone COO role
- High internal promotion rate
The comparison
How Fastenal Company stacks up
Compared with peers such as Grainger and MSC Industrial, Fastenal maintains a flatter, more sales-centric structure. Peers typically consolidate sales under a single commercial leader or COO, whereas Fastenal keeps multiple senior sales executives close to the CEO. This reinforces decentralization but increases CEO …
C-suite size
Fastenal Company
8
W.W. Grainger
8
MSC Industrial
7
Applied Industrial Technologies
7
HD Supply
6
Reporting depth
Fastenal Company
3 levels
W.W. Grainger
4 levels
MSC Industrial
4 levels
Applied Industrial Technologies
4 levels
HD Supply
4 levels
Avg C-suite tenure
Fastenal Company
4 yr
W.W. Grainger
5 yr
MSC Industrial
4 yr
Applied Industrial Technologies
6 yr
HD Supply
4 yr
Has COO / Has CAIO
Fastenal Company — no COO — no CAIO
W.W. Grainger ✓ COO — no CAIO
MSC Industrial ✓ COO — no CAIO
Applied Industrial Technologies ✓ COO — no CAIO
HD Supply ✓ COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
Fastenal announced a planned CEO transition, with Jeffery M. Watts set to succeed Daniel Florness in July 2026.
- departed
- new
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2026-02-25
- CEO
- Daniel L. Florness
- CEO span
- 6
- C-suite
- 10
- Avg tenure
- 3.8 yr
CEO succession planning disclosed with designated successor.
Named executive officers (5)
- Daniel L. Florness - Chief Executive Officer since 2024
- Jeffery M. Watts - President and Chief Sales Officer since 2024
- Max H. Tunnicliff - Chief Financial Officer since 2025
- Sheryl A. Lisowski - Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer since 2020
- Charles S. Miller - Senior EVP Sales since 2020
FY2024
DEF 14A filed 2025-02-26
- CEO
- Daniel L. Florness
- CEO span
- 6
- C-suite
- 10
- Avg tenure
- 4.2 yr
Stable executive team with incremental sales leadership changes.
FY2023
DEF 14A filed 2024-02-27
- CEO
- Daniel L. Florness
- CEO span
- 5
- C-suite
- 9
- Avg tenure
- 4.6 yr
Pre-expansion of senior sales roles.
Year-over-year changes
Sales leadership expanded with elevation of the president role.
- CEO span: 5 → 6
- retitled Jeffery M. Watts - President and Chief Sales Officer (was Chief Sales Officer) (DEF 14A, Feb 2025)
New external CFO appointment reduced average tenure.
- C-suite size: 9 → 10
- Avg tenure: 4.2 → 3.8 yr
- new Max H. Tunnicliff - Chief Financial Officer (DEF 14A, Feb 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of Fastenal?
Daniel L. Florness is CEO through July 16, 2026, after which Jeffery M. Watts will assume the role.
What type of organizational structure does Fastenal use?
Fastenal uses a hybrid, decentralized structure with strong functional leadership and fragmented sales ownership.
How many direct reports does Fastenal's CEO have?
The CEO currently has six direct executive reports.
How has Fastenal's leadership changed recently?
The company announced a planned CEO transition in December 2025, naming Jeffery M. Watts as successor.
Who reports directly to Fastenal's CEO?
Direct reports include leaders of sales, finance, operations, manufacturing, HR, IT, and strategy.
Sources
- 8-K Filing, Dec 19, 2025
- SEC EDGAR: Fastenal Company DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: Fastenal Company 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). Fastenal Company organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/fastenal/MLA 9th
"Fastenal Company Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/fastenal/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "Fastenal Company Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/fastenal/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
Fastenal Company. DEF 14A. Filed 2026-02-25. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/815556/000081555626000017/fast-20260225.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/fastenal/ · last updated 2026-04-01