Metalworking and MRO supplies distributor MSC Industrial Supply Co. will promote its current President and Chief Operating Officer to CEO, effective Jan. 1.

Martina McIsaac will succeed Erik Gershwind following his planned retirement after 30 years with MSC and 13 years as CEO. She will maintain her role as President and join the MSC Board of Directors. Meanwhile, Gershwind will continue to serve the company as non-executive Vice Chair of the Board of Directors while Mitchell Jacobson remains the company’s non-executive Chairman of the board.

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“Erik has shaped the company’s direction and growth path, leading MSC’s transformation from a spot-buy supplier into a mission critical partner on the plant floor of industrial customers. He focused relentlessly on helping customers solve their mission critical challenges while leading strategic investments in people, technology, and acquisitions that drove substantial growth,” said Steven Paladino, Lead Independent Director, in an Oct. 23 news release.

MSC describes McIsaac as a “seasoned executive” who was most recently responsible for overseeing the operational and strategic direction of the company across sales, field service, category management, procurement, pricing, supply chain, sustainability and information technology.

“The board has worked closely with her over the past three years and has tremendous confidence in her,” Mitchell Jacobson, MSC’s non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, said. “She has demonstrated a track record of operational execution and has built strong relationships with our customers, suppliers and all stakeholders. She will build on recent momentum and drive the innovation and growth necessary to achieve our mission critical objectives.”

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MSC is ranked No. 6 on MDM’s 2025 Top Distributors List for MRO Industrial, No. 5 for Fasteners and No. 10 for Safety.

“The culture we have molded and the strategies we have implemented set the company up for great success moving forward,” Gershwind said, adding: “Martina has demonstrated exceptional leadership and vision, and I am confident in her ability to lead MSC into its next phase of growth. During her tenure thus far, we have improved execution, strengthened our market position and enhanced our customer value proposition.”

Meanwhile, the company is still in search for a permanent CFO following the departure of Kristen Actis-Grande, who stepped down to assume the CFO roles at packaging manufacturer Sealed Air Corp. Greg Clark is currently serving as interim CFO of MSC.

Earlier in October, the company also named a new sales leader.

Financial Update

MSC released its fourth quarter financial results on Oct. 23, wherein the company posted total sales of $978.2 million for the June-August period, up 2.7% year-over-year. Meanwhile, 4Q gross margin was down 60 basis points year-over-year to 40.4% as higher cost inventories worked through the profit and loss statement faster than anticipated, according to the company’s earnings presentation.

It was a continued sequential improvement following a 0.8% sales decline in MSC’s 3Q (March-May), while net profit fell considerably despite a slightly higher gross margin performance.

The company reported that average daily sales returned to growth in the fourth quarter with improvement of 2.7% YoY driven by benefits from growth initiatives and price, but was down 1.3% in the full year due to softness in the first half of the fiscal year.

MSC’s 4Q operating profit of $84.3 million was 8.6% of sales, and includes $4.6 million in restructuring and other costs.

For full-year 2025, total sales were $3.77 billion, down 1.3% from 2024. Gross margin of 40.8% slipped 40 bps from 2024; operating income reached $301.6 million on 8.0% margin and net profit of $198 million trailed the $256 million of 2024.