Ex-Carter Hawley Boss Gets New Job

With the ink barely dry on his resignation as president of Carter Hawley Hale Stores, H. Michael Hecht said on Thursday that he will take the position of president at Builders Emporium.

Hecht announced Tuesday that he was leaving Carter Hawley Hale, which operates the Broadway and other department stores. Analysts speculated that he left Carter Hawley, which has just emerged from bankruptcy, because he was not being considered for the post of chief executive. That is essentially correct, he confirmed Thursday.

The presidency of Builders Emporium, which operates 101 do-it-yourself stores, has been vacant since July, when James T. McKitrick resigned. Hecht said his goal is to help the company find its niche in the competitive home- and hardware-supplies industry.

Builders Emporium “has terrific locations, great top-of-the-mind awareness and, I believe, excellent potential for growth,” he said. “This is a terrific opportunity, and under any circumstances I would have taken it.”

Builders Emporium, based in Irvine, has stores across California and the Southwest, where Hecht spent much of his 18-year career with Carter Hawley.