Reconnection with Judith
with Judith Davis at Home Depot
Meeting #16 in the series
Reconnection — no new forces yet
You're reconnecting with Judith after a period of dormancy. Forces from previous conversations are shown below as context. New forces will be captured once this conversation takes place.
The central strategy team has been effectively excluded from Home Services strategic work, which is being handled by divisional leadership. This is an open secret: Michael Torres stated it directly, and Judith's surprise suggested she didn't realize how visible the dynamic was. The sidelining means Home Services misses out on cross-divisional strategic analysis and data the central team possesses.
There is a fundamental disconnect between Home Depot leadership's stated priority of growing the Home Services division and the actual allocation of resources (headcount, engineering, marketing budget) which continues to favor the established Pro division. This creates organizational tension that undermines Home Services' ability to execute on its $5B growth target.
The Home Services division's strategic direction, executive sponsorship, and organizational momentum are heavily concentrated in Judith Davis. If Judith were to leave, burn out, or lose political capital, the entire Home Services growth initiative could stall. There is no clear second-in-command or strategic backup.