Executive Leadership
Keith Weinberger, Chief Executive Officer
Keith Weinberger joined Empire Today as SVP, Marketing in 2012 and was later promoted to Chief Marketing Officer & Executive Vice President, Sales where he led Digital Marketing, Media Buying, E-Commerce, Lead Acquisition, Creative, Research, and Sales efforts. Previously, Mr. Weinberger was Chief Marketing Officer at Enova Financial and General Manager of Enova’s CashNetUSA business unit. Previous experiences included roles in marketing, trade marketing, sales, and operations at the Heat Group, Castrol/BP, and Procter & Gamble. Mr. Weinberger earned a B.S. from Cornell University, and an MBA with Honors from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Tom Knapp, Chief Financial Officer
Tom Knapp joined the Company in 2012 as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Knapp joined the Company from Sears Holdings Corporation where he served as Chief Financial Officer of the Tools Business Unit. Prior to his CFO role, Mr. Knapp was Vice President of the Sears Financial Planning and Analysis group. In total Mr. Knapp spent roughly 10 years at Sears in various financial positions. Mr. Knapp is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst certification (CFA) as well as an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Bill Berry, Chief Information Officer
Bill Berry joined Empire in 2019 as the Chief Information Officer. Mr. Berry was previously the CIO of Cole-Parmer, where he drove integration of ten acquisitions. He was also Director of IT at Thermo Fisher Scientific, and a Consultant at Accenture. Mr. Berry’s accomplishments include implementing business transformation solutions including multiple ERPs, eCommerce, CRM and integrations of multinational acquisitions. He earned B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Vanderbilt University.
Paul Carter, EVP, Warehouse Distribution
Paul Carter currently oversees Merchandising, Logistics, Purchasing, as well as other transformation projects. Mr. Carter joined the company in 2009 to head its commercial business operations, and then later served as Executive Vice President of Operations. Mr. Carter obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Iowa State University. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Carter held Vice President positions at Sears Holdings Corporation in a variety of operational, strategic and development capacities, and was President of American Leak Detection, Inc.
Chris Granger, President, Residential, Commercial Division
Chris Granger joined Empire Today as President, Commercial in 2018. Mr. Granger joined the Empire after spending 18 years at Sears Home Services, where he served in a variety of senior leadership roles in the in-home repair, replacement parts, franchise, and extended warranty businesses. Previously. Mr. Granger worked in a variety of manufacturing leadership positions with Eaton Corporation, Siebe PLC, and Federal Mogul Corporation. Mr. Granger earned a B.S. in Education from the University of Cincinnati, Master's Degrees in Human Resources and Public Administration from Ohio State University, and an MBA from Northern Illinois University.
Hillary Victor, Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Hillary Victor serves as the company’s Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Ms. Victor joined the Company in 2012 from optionsXpress by Charles Schwab (NYSE), where she served as Chief Counsel. Prior to her role as Chief Counsel, Ms. Victor was the Vice President and Associate General Counsel of optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ). Ms. Victor was also a litigation associate at Jenner & Block. She earned her JD cum laude from The John Marshall Law School and Bachelor of Arts cum laude from North Central College.
Gina Cielocha, Senior Vice President, Marketing
Gina Cielocha joined Empire as a Marketing Manager in 2009 and was promoted up to Senior Vice President, under which she leads the Digital Marketing, eCommerce, Media, Brand, Pay for Performance, Content, and Creative Services teams. Mrs. Cielocha came to Empire with more than 10 years of experience in brand marketing, retention marketing, creative services, and special events as Marketing Manager at East Bank Club. Ms. Cielocha earned a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago.
Will Jameson, Senior Vice President, Call Center
Will Jameson joined the team in 2008 and worked his way up to leading the sales organization and opening markets and now is the Senior Vice President, Call Center. Mr. Jameson graduated with dual majors in Economics & Business Administration from Monmouth College.
Amy Mills, Chief Human Resources Officer
Amy Mills joined Empire Today as Chief Human Resources Officer in 2022. Ms. Mills previously was the Chief People Officer at Pampered Chef (a Berkshire Hathaway company). Prior to her role as Chief People Officer, Ms. Mills spent over 15 years at Allstate Insurance Company as a member of the senior leadership team for the Personal Lines and Financial businesses, led the HR field organization, Total Rewards and Workforce Analytics. Ms. Mills was also in Compensation roles at ACNielsen and Tribune Company. Ms. Mills earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Kansas and has completed PhD studies in Applied/Experimental Psychology at Saint Louis University.
David Urbaszewski, Senior Vice President, Procurement
Dave Urbaszewski currently oversees Purchasing, Logistics and Merchandising for Empire Today, LLC. Mr. Urbaszewski joined the company in December of 2020 as the Senior Vice President of Procurement. Previously, Mr. Urbaszewski served as a VP of Procurement for Paris Presents, Inc. and Weber-Stephen Products, LLC. Additional experiences include many other purchasing leadership roles for various companies over his 35-year career. Mr. Urbaszewski earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from St. Norbert College in De Pere Wisconsin.
Blaine Rigler, President, Empire Today for Business
Blaine Rigler joined Empire Today in 2022 as President, Empire Today for Business. Mr. Rigler has a broad-based background with companies of all sizes, focused on accelerating growth and driving operational efficiencies. Prior to joining Empire Today, Mr. Rigler held a variety of senior level roles to include Senior Vice President, Brightview Landscapes, President/CEO RATP Dev North America, and Senior Vice President, Global Solutions & Senior Vice President, Operations with Iron Mountain Information Management. Mr. Rigler earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Texas.
