LOWE'S CHIEF TAPS OUT.

• Author: Bernhard, Kent, Jr.
• Position: STATEWIDE: Charlotte

Robert Niblock's announcement he was retiring as the CEO of Lowe's on March 26 was followed by a 7% one-day stock gain, suggesting investor dissatisfaction with his 13-year tenure at the Mooresville-based home-improvement retailer. The announcement billed Niblock's impending departure as a CEO succession plan, though no successor was named. Instead, a search is under way, led by David Batchelder, a director favored by D.E. Shaw, the New York-based investment company that has criticized Niblock's effectiveness. Shaw controlled about $1 billion in Lowe's shares in January, according to Reuters.

A UNC Charlotte graduate who has worked for Lowe's for 25 years, Niblock oversaw a tripling in Lowe's stock-market value, while its store count doubled to 2,152. Revenue topped $69 billion last year. Like Carolina Panther fans wanting Cam Newton to replicate Tom Brady's success, however, Niblock has long suffered by comparison with his peers at Atlanta-based stock-market star The Home Depot, where profits, sales and market value have increased at a faster clip.

Lowe's next CEO is likely to come from outside the company, Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a New Canaan, Conn.-based investment-research firm, told The Wall Street Journal. Lowe's No. 2 executive is Chief Operating Officer Richard Maltsbarger. He joined the company in 2004 and was chief development...