Meet the Staff
Craig Cope—Publisher/Principal; craig@thehardwareconnection.com
Craig is the current director of The Hardware Conference, which is the largest gathering of independent hardware dealers and is held annually in Marco Island, Fla. Previously he spent 13 years with Philip Morris, holding numerous roles in sales and retail marketing.
Chris Jensen—Editor/Founder/Principal; chris@thehardwareconnection.com
Chris is a former editor and executive editor of Hardware Retailing/Do-It-Yourself Retailing magazine who spent 21 years directing publications for NRHA. He has visited more than 2,000 hardware stores around the world during his hardware industry career, and has guided the magazine to win 14 awards for editorial excellence in the past eight years.
Tom Chasteen—Founder/Principal; tom@thehardwareconnection.com
Tom is a third-generation hardware retailer. For 28 years he and his wife, Dale, directed The Hardware Conference in Marco Island, Fla., which has grown into the largest gathering of independent retailers in the industry. Tom is also a former manager of NRHA’s Southeast Region.
Dan Akers—Marketing and Creative Director/Principal; dan@thehardwareconnection.com
Dan spent five years at NRHA serving as art director for Hardware Retailing and director of creative services and new media. He previously served as graphic designer for Riley Children’s Foundation and is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art & Design.
Dan Beck—National Account Manager; dbeck@thehardwareconnection.com
Dan spent 34 years working for The Daily Gazette Company, a daily newspaper serving the Capital Region of New York. He worked in various sales and marketing positions throughout his career. In his last 10 years he served as the general manager.
John Hammond—Senior Business Advisor; jhammond@thehardwareconnection.com
John spent 38 years at NRHA, serving as editor and VP-publishing and later serving 13 years as managing director. Since retiring from NRHA, he has done consulting work for several industry firms.
Doug Donaldson—Senior Editor; doug@thehardwareconnection.com
Doug has 24 years of experience writing for hardware publications including Hardware Retailer/Do-It-Yourself Retailing and Farm Supply Retailing as well as various custom publications for hardware industry clients. He has written product-driven articles for top consumer publications including Men’s Journal, Better Homes & Gardens and Men’s Health.
