Tom Hickman

Tom Hickman is Chief Executive Officer of Nationwide Marketing Group (NMG), North America’s largest buying, marketing, and business support organization serving independent retailers, independent businesses, and vendor partners across around-the-home, commercial, and builder markets. NMG supports more than 5,500 independent retailers representing over 14,000 storefronts across the United States and Canada, providing Hickman with a broad perspective on the trends, opportunities, and challenges shaping the independent retail channel.

Since becoming CEO in2023, he has guided NMG through a period of strategic growth, expanding the organization’scapabilities across digital solutions, technology, member engagement, and business services. Throughout that growth, he has remained focused on preserving the personalized service, local relationships, and differentiated experiences that have long defined independent retail. Raised in his family’s appliance retail business, Hickman developed an early appreciation for the entrepreneurs and family-owned retailers that strengthen communities and local economies. He later spent 16 years with Toshiba before joining NMG in 2012, serving in progressively broader leadership roles, including Executive Vice President and President & Chief Member Advocate, before becoming CEO in 2023.

Throughout his career, Hickman has championed the long-term success of independent businesses, believing they are strongest when they have access to the insights, partnerships, and resources needed to adapt to change while remaining deeply connected to the communities they serve. Under Hickman’s leadership, NMG established NMG Gives to unify charitable initiatives focused on uplifting and transforming the lives of children in need. Hickman is a recipient of the United States President’s Volunteer Service Award, which honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities and inspires others to take action. He chairs Duke University’s Business Executive Committee and serves on the Board of Directors for the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center.

Hickman holds a Master of Business Administration from Florida International University, a Masterof Studies in Law from Wake Forest University School of Law, and a Master of Science in Leadership from The Citadel.