Tom Shull Director/Chief Executive Officer, Army & Air Force Exchange Service

Tom Shull is Director/CEO of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange), headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense. Established in 1895, the Exchange is the 51st-largest retail organization in the U.S. With annual revenues of $8.5 billion, the Exchange employs approximately 25,000 associates, including military personnel. In the last 10 years, the Exchange benefit has provided $15 billion in value to the military community.

The Exchange operates more than 5,000 facilities, including department, convenience and military clothing stores, restaurants, malls, movie theaters, gas stations and other specialty retail services on military installations. The Exchange’s operations span the Nation, four U.S. territories and more than 30 countries. Additionally, the Exchange Credit Program manages a $2.2 billion credit card receivables portfolio.

A major employer of Veterans and military spouses, the Exchange has hired more than 2,100 Wounded Warriors since 2010 and 65,000 Veterans and military spouses since 2013.

Shull serves on the Exchange’s Board of Directors and its Executive Committee alongside the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, Headquarters, U.S. Army (Army G-4) and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force (AF/A1).

A 1973 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Shull earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He received a Master of Business Administration with honors from Harvard Business School in 1981.

Shull’s line and staff assignments include assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy and commander of a mechanized infantry company. In 1981, he served as a White House Fellow in the Office of the Chief of Staff. In his last active-duty assignment, then-Maj. Shull served as Military Assistant to Robert “Bud” McFarlane, Assistant to President Ronald Reagan for National Security Affairs. Shull led a major re-evaluation and revision of White House management systems, conducted a comprehensive review of the National Security Council and coordinated National Security Council low-intensity conflict policy initiatives and U.S.-Soviet policy. He also represented the White House to oversee the construction and dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Shull has earned numerous awards and decorations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal;; Meritorious Service Medal; Presidential Service Badge; Expert Infantryman’s Badge; Ranger Tab; Airborne Wings; the West Point Association of Graduates’ Distinguished Graduate Award; American Logistics Association Distinguished Service Award; Department of Defense Distinguished Service Award; and was named to the Reserve Office Association’s Minuteman Hall of Fame.

As the Exchange’s first civilian Director/CEO, Shull has aligned the Department of Defense's largest military exchange with private-sector best practices, tightening cost controls, reducing operational expenses and introducing top name brands to significantly improve military Quality of Life. Shull has championed DoD policy changes to strengthen military Quality of Life supporting, ultimately securing DoD approval to authorize approximately 18 million veterans to shop online at military exchanges, extending privileges to 4.1 million disabled Veterans, Purple Heart recipients and certain caregivers and expand benefits for 575,000 DoD and Coast Guard civilian employees and retirees.

Prior to joining the Exchange, Shull co-founded Meridian Ventures Inc., where he served as President and CEO. He has also successfully turned around four major commercial businesses as CEO of Wise Foods, Hanover Direct and Barneys New York, as well as executive vice president at Macy’s.

Shull is a former chairman of the Deafness Research Foundation, the largest private charity funding research in the causes and treatment of hearing loss. He also served on the Board of Trustees for the Association of Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy from 1997 to 2001 and as Treasurer for the 1973 class from 2013 to 2018. He was also a board director of Zale Corporations from 2004 to 2010.