NKBA appoints Bill Darcy as new CEO

The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) today announced the promotion of Bill Darcy to CEO. In his new role, he will continue the leadership he began in April 2011, as executive vice president. The organization has also officially announced an increase in the membership, bringing the total number of NKBA members from nearly 40,000 to more than 50,000.

Darcy began with the NKBA as the manager of marketing partnerships, and has received numerous promotions including manager of business development, where he generated more than $1 million in non-dues revenue for the association; followed by senior manager of marketing; director of marketing; and most recently as of April 2011, executive vice president.

As senior manager of marketing, he made significant reductions in the organization’s expenses and was then promoted to director of marketing. There, he led projects such as the complete redesign and launch of NKBA.org, and the development of a program with HGTVRemodel.com that has driven millions of dollars of exposure for the NKBA.

As executive vice president, Darcy led initiatives that included launching a kitchen and bath industry directory, NKBA.org/Directory; a kitchen and bath career center, NKBA.org/Careers; and soon to be launched member health insurance affinity program.

His investments in the NKBA’s learning and development area, as well as corporate sales and member outreach have led to Lowe’s—the world’s second-largest home improvement retailer—joining the association’s membership. This has helped bring the count to its present number, which includes nearly 11,000 company or branch members in addition to the more than 40,000 individual members.

Darcy’s outreach to industry associations such as the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA); American Lighting Association (ALA); Association of Closet and Storage Professionals (ACSP); National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA); National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI); and Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) have led to collaborative relationships and programs between the organizations.

“Since being promoted to executive vice president last spring, Bill has demonstrated that hard work, forward thinking and the willingness to take challenging issues head on leads to success,” according to NKBA President Alan W. Zielinski, CKD. “The NKBA Executive Committee and Board of Directors are confident that Bill will seek out new opportunities to build a stronger association, one that will remain at the forefront of revitalization and growth in the kitchen and bath industry.”

Prior to joining the NKBA, Darcy was senior director of corporate accounts at NASCAR’s sister company, ISC. While there, his team managed sponsorship contracts totaling $200 million from such sponsors as The Home Depot, AT&T, Motorola, Pfizer, UPS and Pepsi. Darcy holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Moravian College.

“The association continues to focus on maintaining its position as the leading source for expertise, education and professional resources in the industry,” Zielinski added “and we look forward to the contributions Bill will make in his new role.”