Mary Lee Schneider, the first president and CEO of Follett Corporation from outside the Follett family in its more than 140-year history, is leaving after less than three years on the job. She is also retiring from the board of directors.

Schneider will be succeeded by Ray A. Griffith, who has been a member of Follett’s board since February 2013. He brings more than 35 years experience, and served as president and CEO of Ace Hardware until April 2013. At Ace he pioneered the “next generation” retail store format and opened close to a thousand locations in eight years, a release from Follett said. Follett, a major educational distributor which also operates more than 980 college bookstores, has been making changes to its business to adapt to the digital transition in both the college and el-hi markets.

“Known for his humble leadership, Follett will benefit from Ray’s passion for our customers and associates,” said Todd Litzsinger, chairman of the Follett board of directors in a press release. “Education is changing rapidly. Follett does not hide from the change—we’re excited by it. Together with our partners, we are working hard to shape the future of education by focusing on continuously improving the products and services we offer,” said Griffith.

Follett is a $2.6 billion privately held company, which is headquarter in Westchester, Ill.