Acquired · Monday, September 14, 2026
The founding team of Home Depot, comprised of retailer Bernie Marcus, finance expert Arthur Blank, and dealmaker Ken Langone, gained a crucial fourth member in merchandising genius Pat Farrah. Farrah, despite his unconventional style, brought essential creativity and a nose for consumer demand, a vital element missing from the initial team.
“So Ken flies in and I'm just gonna read Bernie's description of what happens next here. Pat, the HomeCo owner-operator here, was an hour late getting to his own store when he finally showed up.”
“Kenny shot Arthur a look that said, Is this your idea of a joke? But Pat Farrah is one of the most creative people any of us had ever met.”
“You've got Bernie the retailer, Arthur finance and operations, Ken finds the money and is sort of the spiritual glue holding this team together. But they don't yet have the genius merchandiser-”
“Yes. Yep, Pat is the merchandiser.”