Lead photo: Fastenal CEO Dan Florness delivers a keynote speech during the company’s Fastenal Expo on April 20, 2022 at the Grand Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN. (Fastenal photo)

Fastenal is set to have new top leadership next summer.

The fasteners, MRO and construction supplies distributor announced Dec. 22 that 30-year company veteran Dan Florness — CEO since late 2015 — informed the company three days earlier that he plans to step down from his role on July 16, 2026. Promptly, Fastenal’s board appointed current President and Chief Sales Officer Jeff Watts to succeed Florness as CEO on that same day.

Florness expects to remain with Fastenal as a strategic advisor until early 2028 to help ensure a smooth transition of duties and knowledge transfer. The company said he plans to resign from Fastenal’s board when he steps out of the CEO role, and the company plans to appoint Watts as a director to fill that vacancy.

“This transition represents the next step in an orderly succession plan that began in August 2024, when Jeff Watts stepped into the role of President of Fastenal. Since then, Jeff has demonstrated an outstanding ability to align our sales teams around the common goal of delivering industry-leading value and service to Fastenal’s customers,” Fastenal Board Chair Scott Satterlee said in a news release after acknowledging the shareholder value created in Florness’ tenure. “There is the complete confidence of Dan and the entire Board for Jeff to be Fastenal’s next CEO to further lead with the cultural values Robert Kierlin and the Founders established decades ago. We are very excited about this next chapter in Fastenal’s history.”

Fastenal Maintains Daily Sales Velocity through November (Dec. 4)

Watts first joined the company in 2003 as Managing Director of Fastenal Europe. He became Executive Vice President of International Sales in 2015, was promoted to CSO in mid-2023 and added the role of company president in August 2024.

Meanwhile, Florness joined Fastenal as CFO in 1996 and became CEO 9 years later. The company’s NASDAQ stock price was shy of $10 when he became chief executive, and it was trading north of $42 at the end of Dec. 19.

This growth was well-documented in MDM’s early 2024 Fastenal Case Study (award-winning):

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“Fastenal is blessed with great people, and the opportunity to be a member of this team for 30 years has been an honor,” Florness said. “Jeff has a great ability to spot and develop talent, a great ability to align people and resources in the pursuit of a common goal and 30 years of knowledge serving our customers. I look forward to seeing him lead Fastenal into the future.”

“Since joining Fastenal in 1996, I’ve seen tremendous positive growth and change in our business,” Watts added. “I’m excited for what we can achieve in the future, and I’m grateful for Dan’s leadership and mentorship. I’m honored and humbled to be the next CEO of this great organization and a part of the Blue Team.”

The CEO transition announcement bookends a major leadership transition year for Fastenal. 2025 began with the news that former nine-year CFO Holden Lewis would depart in April, and he is now 80-20 Expert VP at Strategex. Longtime Fastenal Controller and accounting leader Sheryl Lisowski took on CFO duties from April until November, when the company tapped former Beko Europe CFO and longtime Whirlpool veteran Max Tunnicluff as its new CFO. In February of 2025, Fastenal shared the somber news that company Founder and former Chairman and Minnesota State Senator Bob Kierlin died at the age of 85.