Eric Adams

President Russo Power Equipment

Last Reviewed: September 29, 2026

Executive Summary

Eric Adams is President of Russo Power Equipment, a family-owned dealer of outdoor power equipment, landscape supplies and deicing salt that began in 1970 as a hardware store on Chicago’s northwest side. Russo names him as president in its own announcements from 2011 and 2022. The second of those came as Russo began buying independent dealerships beyond Illinois, which has since taken it into Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa. This profile is deliberately limited to what Russo itself has published: the company does not publish a leadership page, and no first-party source was found that describes his earlier career or education.

Career Highlights

• Named as President of Russo Power Equipment in the company’s March 2011 announcement of its new Hainesville, Illinois store, a site he chose from several in northern Illinois.
• Named as President in Russo’s November 2022 announcement of the acquisition of Haltom Equipment in Mooresville, Indiana, one of three dealerships Russo bought that year.
• Russo now describes 13 Midwest locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa, plus a salt distribution center in Lemont, Illinois.

Professional Journey

Russo started as Russo Ace Hardware, a family-owned franchise on Montrose Avenue in Chicago, in 1970. It opened its first Russo Power Equipment store on Chicago’s northwest side in 1998 and moved to a larger facility in Schiller Park in 2005, then added stores in Naperville (2008), Hainesville (2011), Frankfort (2014) and Elgin (2016), along with bulk salt sites in Lemont and an e-commerce fulfillment center in Elgin. It sells to landscapers, municipalities, park districts, arborists, turf care specialists, snow removal contractors and landowners.

Adams appears in Russo’s own news as president in 2011, when the company announced its Hainesville store in a former Edward Hines Lumber building. He said Russo had looked at several locations in northern Illinois before choosing that one: “I just have a feeling about this place.” He credited the store to customers, some of whom were driving from as far as Minnesota to the Schiller Park location.

In 2022 Russo began growing by acquisition, buying C&C Distributors in Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana; Porter’s Lawn & Power Equipment in Janesville, Wisconsin; and Haltom Equipment in Mooresville, Indiana. It also opened a store in New Berlin, Wisconsin. Announcing the Haltom deal as president, Adams said: “It’s easy to join forces with a team that shares the same work ethic and integrity as your own. We’re excited to build on what they have created and serve as role models as we continue to grow together.”

The pace has picked up since. In 2023 Russo added Mutton Power Equipment in Fort Wayne. In 2025 it entered Iowa with Midway Outdoor Equipment in Hiawatha and added AE Outdoor Power, Burke’s Outdoor Equipment in Valparaiso, QC Power Equipment and Gruel Brothers. In 2026 it added Howard’s Lawn & Garden in Lebanon, Indiana and Clark Saw Center in Maquoketa, Iowa, and began moving its acquired branches under a single name, Russo Outdoor Power Plus. Russo’s releases about these deals quote its director of branch operations rather than its president, so Adams’s own part in them is not set out in anything the company has published.

Education

No education record was found in any first-party source.