Carol Tome

Carol B. Tomé (born January 1957) is an American business executive serving as chief executive officer of United Parcel Service (UPS), the world's largest package delivery company. Appointed CEO in June 2020, Tomé became the first female CEO in UPS's 113-year history and one of the few women leading a major Fortune 50 company. Before joining UPS, Tomé spent 25 years as chief financial officer of The Home Depot, where she became one of the most respected CFOs in corporate America. Under her leadership, UPS has pursued a "better not bigger" strategy, focusing on profitable growth and operating efficiency rather than pure volume expansion.

Early life and education

Carol B. Tomé was born in January 1957 in Jackson, Wyoming, a small mountain town known for its proximity to Grand Teton National Park and as a gateway to Yellowstone. Growing up in Wyoming in the 1960s and 1970s, Tomé developed a strong work ethic and appreciation for the American West's independent spirit.

Tomé's father owned and operated a small construction business in Wyoming, giving her early exposure to entrepreneurship and business operations. Watching her father manage employees, negotiate with suppliers, and handle the financial aspects of running a business provided practical business education that complemented her later formal training.

After completing high school in Wyoming, Tomé attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie, the state's flagship public university. She majored in communications, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979. The communications degree developed her skills in written and verbal expression, presentation, and persuasion—abilities that would serve her well in executive roles requiring stakeholder management and public speaking.

Recognizing that a career in business would require additional education, Tomé pursued an MBA at the University of Denver, graduating in 1981. The University of Denver's Daniels College of Business provided training in finance, accounting, strategy, and general management. Tomé's MBA, combined with her communications background, positioned her well for a business career.

Early career (1981–1995)

After earning her MBA in 1981, Carol Tomé began her career in banking and finance. The early 1980s were a transformative period for American finance, with deregulation reshaping the banking industry.

Tomé worked in commercial banking in Denver, Colorado, gaining experience in lending, credit analysis, and relationship management with corporate clients. This banking experience developed her financial acumen and understanding of how businesses use debt financing for growth and operations.

In the mid-1980s, Tomé moved into investment banking, working in corporate finance roles that involved advising companies on capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, and financial strategy. This work exposed her to a variety of industries and gave her insight into how different businesses operate.

By the early 1990s, Tomé had established herself as a capable financial professional with expertise in both commercial and investment banking. However, her career would take a significant turn when she joined The Home Depot in 1995.

The Home Depot (1995–2020)

Chief Financial Officer (1995–2020)

In 1995, Carol Tomé joined The Home Depot, the rapidly growing home improvement retail chain, as treasurer. The Home Depot, founded in 1979, had revolutionized home improvement retail with its warehouse-style stores offering a vast selection of products at competitive prices.

Tomé's financial expertise impressed Home Depot leadership, and within just two years, she was promoted to senior vice president and chief financial officer in 1997, at age 40. She would serve as CFO for an extraordinary 23 years—one of the longest CFO tenures at a major corporation.

During her Home Depot CFO tenure, Tomé oversaw financial operations for a company that grew from approximately $20 billion in annual revenues when she became CFO to over $110 billion by 2020. Key achievements included:

Financial Management During Rapid Growth

Through the late 1990s and early 2000s, Home Depot was expanding aggressively, opening hundreds of new stores. Tomé managed the capital allocation, debt financing, and financial planning necessary to fund this expansion while maintaining healthy financial ratios.

Navigating the Financial Crisis

The 2008-2009 financial crisis and housing market collapse devastated home improvement retailers. Home Depot's revenues and profits declined significantly as consumers stopped remodeling and new home construction plummeted. Tomé helped Home Depot manage through this crisis by controlling costs, managing liquidity, and maintaining access to credit markets.

Supporting the Frank Blake Turnaround

When CEO Frank Blake took over Home Depot in 2007, the company was struggling with operational challenges and slowing growth. Tomé worked closely with Blake to implement a turnaround strategy focused on improving customer service, investing in store associates, and optimizing the store base. The turnaround was highly successful, with Home Depot's stock price and financial performance recovering strongly.

Capital Allocation Excellence

Under Tomé's financial leadership, Home Depot became known for shareholder-friendly capital allocation, returning tens of billions through dividends and share buybacks while also investing in the business. This balanced approach created substantial shareholder value.

Board Service

Tomé's financial expertise led to board positions at several major corporations, including UPS (beginning in 2003), where she served for 17 years before becoming CEO.

By 2020, Tomé was widely regarded as one of the most effective CFOs in corporate America, winning multiple awards and recognition from investors, analysts, and business media.

Retirement and Return

In May 2019, after 24 years at Home Depot including 22 as CFO, Tomé announced her retirement. She stepped down as CFO in September 2019 at age 62, planning to spend more time with family and pursue board work.

However, her retirement would be short-lived. In March 2020, UPS announced that Tomé, who had served on UPS's board since 2003, would become CEO effective June 1, 2020. At age 63, Tomé was coming out of retirement to lead one of the world's most complex global logistics operations.

United Parcel Service (2020–present)

CEO Appointment

On June 1, 2020, Carol Tomé became president and chief executive officer of United Parcel Service, succeeding David Abney. She became the first woman to lead UPS in its 113-year history and one of only about 40 female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies at the time.

Tomé's appointment came during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was causing unprecedented changes in package delivery as e-commerce surged while traditional business shipping declined.

"Better Not Bigger" Strategy

As CEO, Tomé articulated a clear strategic vision called "better not bigger"—focusing on profitable growth and efficiency rather than simply chasing volume:

Customer-Centric Approach

Tomé refocused UPS on serving customers that valued reliability and were willing to pay for premium service, rather than competing primarily on price.

Healthcare and SMB Focus

Tomé emphasized growing UPS's healthcare logistics business (delivering prescription drugs, medical supplies, and temperature-sensitive biologics) and serving small and medium-sized businesses.

Pricing Discipline

Tomé implemented stricter pricing discipline, including surcharges for oversized packages, peak season fees, and delivery area charges. This increased average revenue per package even if total package volume growth slowed.

Network Optimization

Tomé invested in automating UPS facilities, optimizing delivery routes, and improving operational efficiency to reduce costs per package.

Saturday and Sunday Delivery

Tomé expanded seven-day-per-week delivery to compete with Amazon Logistics and meet e-commerce customer expectations.

Performance as CEO

Under Tomé's leadership through 2024, UPS has delivered:

• Operating margin expansion from mid-9% to over 12%
• Revenue growth from $84 billion (2020) to approximately $97 billion (2024)
• Increased revenue per package through pricing discipline
• Improved return on invested capital
• Stock price appreciation of approximately 40% (2020-2024), though with significant volatility

However, UPS has also faced challenges:

• Labor negotiations with the Teamsters union (2023), resulting in a new contract with significant wage increases
• Volume declines in 2023-2024 as some customers shifted to lower-cost competitors after price increases
• Competition from Amazon's internal logistics network
• Economic slowdown reducing shipping demand

Chairman Role

In August 2022, Tomé was also appointed chairman of UPS's board of directors, giving her the combined chairman and CEO role. This concentrated leadership structure is common at major corporations but sometimes criticized by corporate governance advocates who prefer independent board chairs.

Personal life

Carol Tomé is married to Thomas E. "Tom" Tomé, whom she met in the early 1980s when both were working in Denver's financial services industry. Tom Tomé had a successful career in banking and financial services, eventually becoming a senior executive at various financial institutions.

The couple married in the early 1980s and have three children, all now adults. During Carol's years at Home Depot in Atlanta, the Tomé family lived in the Atlanta area. After Carol became UPS CEO, the family remained in Atlanta, where UPS is also headquartered.

Colleagues describe Carol Tomé as disciplined, analytical, and results-oriented, with a friendly but no-nonsense management style. Her communications degree shows in her ability to articulate strategy clearly and connect with diverse audiences—from Wall Street analysts to warehouse workers.

Outside of work, Tomé has served on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards. She is involved in Atlanta's civic and cultural institutions and has spoken about the importance of mentoring women in business.

Tomé has been open about the challenges of balancing demanding executive roles with family responsibilities, particularly in earlier career stages when her children were young. She has credited supportive spouses and flexible work arrangements as essential for enabling women to succeed in senior executive roles.

Leadership philosophy

Tomé's leadership approach reflects her CFO background and focus on value creation:

Financial Discipline

With 25 years as a CFO, Tomé emphasizes financial metrics, return on invested capital, and efficient resource allocation. She believes disciplined capital allocation is as important as revenue growth.

Customer Selectivity

Unlike leaders who chase growth at any cost, Tomé believes in serving customers that value what UPS offers and are willing to pay for quality service, even if that means accepting lower volume.

Operational Excellence

Tomé focuses relentlessly on improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and optimizing processes—viewing these as key to maintaining competitive advantage.

Communication and Transparency

Tomé emphasizes clear communication of strategy and transparent performance reporting to shareholders, employees, and customers.

Empowerment

Despite her focus on metrics and accountability, Tomé believes in empowering employees at all levels to make decisions and solve problems.

Controversies and challenges

Teamsters Labor Negotiations (2023)

In 2023, UPS faced contentious labor negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents approximately 340,000 UPS employees—one of the largest private-sector union workforces in America.

The negotiations were difficult:

• Teamsters initially threatened to strike if demands weren't met
• UPS customers began diverting packages to FedEx and other carriers, fearing a potential strike
• Negotiations went down to the wire, with a strike barely averted
• The final contract included significant wage increases (part-time starting wages up to $21/hour, raises for full-time drivers)
• The contract cost increases will add approximately $500 million per year to UPS costs

Critics argued Tomé's aggressive pricing strategy and "better not bigger" approach created antagonism with the union and contributed to the difficult negotiations. Supporters noted the contract was necessary to retain workers in a tight labor market and that the negotiations concluded successfully without a strike.

Volume Declines (2023-2024)

After the labor negotiations, UPS experienced volume declines as some customers who had diverted packages to competitors during the threatened strike did not fully return. Additionally, some price-sensitive customers permanently switched to lower-cost alternatives.

This raised questions about whether Tomé's pricing discipline had gone too far, pricing UPS out of certain market segments. Tomé has defended the strategy, arguing that unprofitable volume is worse than no volume, and that UPS is better positioned with higher-quality, more profitable business even if volumes are lower.

Amazon Competition

Amazon's continued buildout of its own delivery network (Amazon Logistics) has reduced its dependence on UPS and FedEx. Amazon now delivers the majority of its own packages, significantly impacting UPS volumes. Critics question whether UPS can sustainably grow when one of the world's largest shippers is becoming a major competitor.

Compensation Criticism

Tomé's 2023 total compensation of $24.7 million has drawn criticism from some shareholders and union representatives, particularly given the company's volume declines and labor cost increases. Defenders note her compensation is tied to performance metrics and that she has created significant shareholder value.

Compensation and net worth

Tomé's 2023 total compensation from UPS was $24.7 million, consisting of salary, bonus, stock awards, and other compensation. This makes her one of the highest-paid female CEOs in America.

Her net worth is estimated at $100-150 million, accumulated through stock compensation during her 25 years as Home Depot CFO and her UPS CEO compensation. Her Home Depot stock holdings appreciated dramatically during her tenure, given Home Depot's strong performance from 1995-2020.

Awards and recognition

• Named to Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Business list (multiple years)
• Financial Executive of the Year
• CFO of the Year (multiple times during Home Depot tenure)
• Atlanta Business Chronicle's Most Admired CEO
• Director of the Year recognition for board service
• Named to Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women

Legacy and impact

Carol Tomé's career represents a relatively rare path for women to CEO positions—rising through the CFO role. Her 25 years as Home Depot CFO provided deep financial expertise and business acumen that positioned her well to become a CEO.

As UPS CEO, Tomé has demonstrated that a "better not bigger" strategy can work in logistics, challenging conventional wisdom that delivery companies must constantly chase volume growth. Whether this strategy proves successful long-term will depend on UPS's ability to maintain pricing discipline while defending market share against Amazon and other competitors.

Tomé is one of the most prominent female CEOs in corporate America, and her success provides a model for other women aspiring to executive leadership roles.