Third-generation Ace Hardware leader on why humility is his No. 1 core value

A conversation on leadership with Michael Wynn, president of Sunshine Ace Hardware and the third generation of his family to oversee the company, is sort of like shopping at one the company’s stores: It’s a comfortable, friendly place where product diversity, from adhesives and axes to wheelbarrows and wrenches, drive a repeat customer experience. 

Wynn, who has been president of Naples-based Sunshine Ace Hardware since 2005, also offers a snug smorgasbord of leadership wisdom. This stems mostly from a lifetime of working at the family-owned business. Wynn’s history with the business dates back to the early 1980s when, as a young boy, he would wear elf, Wonder Bread and clown costumes outside his grandfather’s hardware and food store in Naples. Sunshine Ace is now a 500-employee company with 12 stores from the Tampa Bay market through Naples. Store No. 13, says Wynn, now 50, is scheduled to open in 2024 in Ave Maria in Collier County. 

Wynn was a recent guest on the Business Observer’s From the Corner Office podcast. From the Corner Office, which debuted June 15 with an interview with OfficeMax Founder Michael Feuer, is a weekly dive into leaders and leadership with some of the region’s top executives. Past guests include First Watch Restaurant Group CEO Chris Tomasso; PGT Innovations CEO Jeff Jackson; Sarasota Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Heather Kasten; and global leadership speaker Julie Henry. The latest guest is University of South Florida President Rhea Law, with an episode that dropped Sept. 14.