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As part of a long-running succession plan, Chairman and CEO Richard P. (Dick) Johnson at American Tire Distributors, Inc. (ATD) has announced his April retirement. He will retain his chairmanship for two years. President and Chief Operating Officer William E. Berry will continue as president while assuming the CEO position.
In the top spots since 2003, Johnson led ATD’s growth from a company with 62 distribution centers covering 18 states and $1.06 billion in sales to its current network of 100 distribution centers servicing 39 states and sales exceeding the $2 billion mark.
“It has been my privilege to work closely with Bill Berry and the rest of the leadership team over the past decade to build a company that is stronger than ever and ready to shape the future of our industry,” Johnson says. “The changes announced today are the result of a succession plan developed over several years and designed to ensure a seamless transition and strength, stability and continuity of leadership for our company.”
“I am honored by the faith that Dick and the rest of the board have placed in me and I am tremendously excited about the opportunities that lie in front of us,” says Berry. “On behalf of the entire management team, I want to thank Dick for his exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to build ATD into the best choice for tire buyers nationwide.”
Berry has a 25-year track record of success in the tire industry, beginning in 1984 as controller for the ITCO Tire Co. He joined ATD in 1998 as a result of ATD’s merger with ITCO, serving as senior vice president of finance for the Southeast division. He was named executive vice president and COO in 2002, rising to president in 2003.
Johnson was president and CEO from 2001 to 2003. Previously he was president of the Southeast division after serving as ITCO’s president and COO from 1997 until ITCO’s merger with Heafner Tire in 1998.
Two months ago, ATD accomplished its largest acquisition to date with the purchase of Am-Pac Tire Distribution, Inc. The addition of Am-Pac “significantly strengthens ATD’s market position and allows the company to better serve America’s tire dealers with enhanced product offerings and a distribution network unsurpassed in the wholesale tire industry,” the executives report.
Prior to the transaction, Am-Pac was a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Itochu Corp., which bought Aspen Enterprises, Inc. and its Tire Pros assets in 1999. Am-Pac broadened its distribution reach with the acquisitions of Case Tire in Arizona, Tasco Distributing Ltd. in Texas, and Southern Rubber Co. in Alabama.
ATD is also embarking on a plan to enable tire dealers to capture incremental consumers via the Internet by developing TireBuyer.com. The site will capture e-commerce sales for participating dealers, “enabling them to compete in this growing segment of the replacement tire and custom wheel marketplace.”
ATD is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. It employs more than 3,000 employees across its nationwide distribution center network, including 200 people in its Charlotte-area Field Support Center, distribution center and regional hub. The company focuses on “helping tire and wheel retail dealers compete with larger retailers by offering the most complete, coast-to-coast selection of tires, wheels and related products, as well as value-added services.”
For more information, visit www.atd-us.com.
