Taylor Sommer

A sales chief from another distribution industry

Taylor Sommer is Chief Sales Officer of QXO, the building products distributor. Hardware Retailing reported his appointment on February 23, 2026, shortly after QXO announced its $2.25 billion acquisition of Kodiak Building Products.^[1][2]

Republic National Distributing

QXO's biography says Sommer has held distribution leadership roles for more than two decades. From 2000 to 2025 he held senior positions at Republic National Distributing Co., a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of alcoholic beverages, including vice president, executive vice president and regional president. Most recently he was Republic's chief sales officer, setting strategic direction and driving national and regional sales performance. He began his career with E. & J. Gallo Winery.^[1]

Hardware Retailing describes him as having nearly three decades of experience building sales organizations and scaling operations, and says that at Republic he led large multi-state operations, directed statewide commercial strategy and oversaw thousands of employees.^[2]

Why he matters

Sommer brings large-scale wholesale sales experience from a different distribution business to a company that is growing through acquisitions in building products. QXO has not published sales results attributable to him, and he has been in the seat for under a year.^[1][2]

On The Executive List

Taylor Sommer is ranked No. 94 on The Executive List (November 2026) in the Chief Strategy Officers discipline. The ranking is The Executive Review's own editorial judgment (how we rank); it is not an outside award, and placement on the list is never sold. View the November 2026 edition.