At a Glance
- The Event: The Home Depot unveiled a permanent Georgia Historical Society (GHS) marker at its Atlanta Store Support Center.
- The Significance: The marker commemorates the company’s 1978 founding in Atlanta and the revolutionary retail approach that built its nearly five decades of success.
- Key Figures: The ceremony featured co-founder Arthur Blank, alongside company executives, tenured associates, and GHS leadership.
- Core Culture: The event highlighted The Home Depot’s signature "inverted pyramid" philosophy, which places customers and store associates at the top of the organization.
The Home Depot recently hosted a ceremony at the Atlanta Store Support Center to celebrate a new permanent historical marker presented by the Georgia Historical Society (GHS). This event was designed to recognize the company’s history, its culture, and the associates behind its nearly five decades of success.
The program included remarks from Richard McPhail, executive vice president and chief financial officer; Amanda Seals, Cobb Chamber representative; and Todd Groce, president and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society.
Deep Roots in Atlanta
Founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank—with support from Ken Langone, Pat Farrah, and Ron Brill—The Home Depot opened its first two stores in Atlanta in June 1979. The new GHS marker officially recognizes this local beginning and the approach that reshaped home improvement retail: bringing a broad selection of products together under one roof while surrounding customers with knowledgeable associates who could help them get the job done.
During a candid Q&A with Senior Executive Vice President Ann-Marie Campbell, co-founder Arthur Blank reflected on the company’s foundational "inverted pyramid" philosophy. Blank emphasized that the company was built in the store aisles rather than an executive suite, a core principle ensuring customers and store associates sit at the top of the organization while leadership exists purely to serve and support them.
“What is important is that the foundation, the structure be the same... be solid, be built on those kind of values that are unchanging. And those values that are unchanging are really reflected in this value wheel and reflected in the inverted pyramid. We're in the servant leader position. As long as we have the humility to understand that our customers are smarter than we are, and always will be, we're going to be incredibly successful.”
— Arthur M. Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot
Connecting the company’s founding with the people who continue to carry its culture forward, Blank officially unveiled the marker alongside fellow founders Pat Farrah and Ron Brill, the family of Bernie Marcus, and a group of longtime associates. The permanent marker will be erected at the corner of the Store Support Center in Atlanta as a way to preserve a piece of The Home Depot’s history forever.
The Georgia Historical Society
The Georgia Historical Society serves as the premier independent, statewide educational and research institution responsible for collecting and teaching Georgia history. Through its widely recognized Georgia Historical Marker Program, the GHS erects markers to share the stories of the people, places, and innovations that have significantly shaped the state. Recognizing The Home Depot's profound impact on Georgia’s economic and cultural landscape was a natural addition to this statewide historical trail.
