Changing Faster Than The Market — Q&A With Steve Brass, President and CEO of WD-40 Company
Brass has been with WD-40 Company for more than 30 years and was named president and chief executive officer in 2022.
WD-40 Company’s iconic product has been a fixture on hardware store shelves and in shops around the world for more than seven decades. Since its introduction in 1953 and rise to global household status, the company has built a reputation on practical performance and problem solving for DIYers and pros alike. Helming that legacy is Steve Brass, who was named president and chief executive officer of WD-40 Company in 2022 after more than 30 years with the business in a variety of leadership roles. WD-40 is also the sponsor of Hardware Connection’s Digital Beacon Awards, which recognize excellence in digital engagement by independent hardware retailers—a natural fit for a brand focused on staying relevant as customer expectations continue to evolve.
In this exclusive interview, Brass shares why adaptive change, not tradition alone, will define the next era for hardware retailers—and what else he sees shaping the road ahead.
Hardware Connection: Which principles of leadership are most important when guiding a company with a long legacy while still positioning it for its next chapter?
Steve Brass: I am fortunate to have inherited a wonderful legacy from those who came before me. Visionary WD-40 Company leaders like Jack Barry, Jerry Schlief and Garry Ridge created the iconic WD-40 brand and developed a global infrastructure to support future growth. They also built a powerful company culture rooted in defined values that have stood the test of time and guided decision-making across the global organization.
Our world is changing at an unprecedented pace, so as a leader of a global company with a powerful legacy, you need to be laser-focused on driving adaptive change to ensure the business is evolving faster on the inside than the world is changing on the outside. With the help of your people, you need to develop a sense of where the world is headed and act on those emerging trends. In 2025 we marked the company’s 72nd anniversary, yet I believe the best years are yet to come, as we embrace significant global growth potential.
A balance of legacy and innovation continues to guide WD-40 Company’s approach to product development, according to president and CEO Steve Brass.
How do you view the relationship between WD-40 and independent hardware retailers today, and where do you see the strongest opportunities for growth together?
Our relationship with independent hardware retailers is essential to our business. They’re often the first place people go when they’re looking for our products—and they continue to be our largest sales channel worldwide. One of the strongest opportunities we see to grow with our retail partners is in category expansion. Although our brand is known and beloved for our classic WD-40 Multi-Use Product, through continuous innovation to meet our users’ needs, we’ve created new delivery systems and new formulas for projects that require specialty solutions to get the job done right. To support product education and simplify decision making for our end users, partnering with quality retail partners is key, and in doing so, we leverage our digital and omni channels to ensure consumers can easily find, understand and purchase our products.
How does WD-40 approach product development and innovation?
You often hear the phrase, “You need only two things in life: duct tape and WD-40.” That’s because WD-40 Multi-Use is known for its straightforward, no-nonsense performance; it’s an honest and trusted solution with more than 2,000 uses and counting. For more than 70 years, WD-40 has focused on solving real problems by listening to the folks who rely on our solutions the most. From the WD-40 Smart Straw, designed with a permanently attached straw for added convenience, to WD-40 EZ-REACH, created to tackle those seemingly impossible, hard-to-reach areas and many more, our most successful innovations are rooted in minimizing end user pain points.
That same philosophy guided the development of the WD-40 Precision Pen. This product was shaped by direct insight from our PRO Board, a voluntary group of trade professionals who serve as our advisory board to provide unfiltered feedback and test innovations before they reach the market. Guided by our core value of making things better than they are today, the PRO Board plays a critical role in helping us evolve, ensuring every new solution meets a consumer need and stays true to the brand’s legacy.
