US-based retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories AutoZone has announced that Bill Rhodes will relinquish his position as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective January 2024 and become Executive Chairman of the Board, according to a press release dated 26 June. The company has selected Philip Daniele, who has spent 29 years at AutoZone and is currently the Executive Vice President Merchandising, Marketing and Supply Chain, to succeed Rhodes as CEO.
Rhodes has been President, CEO and on the Board of Directors since March of 2005. In June 2007, he was named Chairman of the Board. During his tenure, the company roughly doubled the number of stores to approximately 115,000, increased revenues by more than three times surpassing $17 billion this year, saw the stock price grow by more than 25 times, the release added.
Significance: “Phil shares Bill’s passion for the business and most importantly, for our AutoZoners. Phil will leverage his deep industry knowledge as a nearly 40-year veteran of this industry. During his AutoZone tenure, Phil has worked in many parts of the organization, including virtually all leadership roles in Store Operations, he has spent many years on our Merchandising team, led Commercial, has been very involved in Information Technology and has now overseen our Supply Chain and Marketing teams for the last two years,” said Earl Graves, Jr., Lead Director on Daniele’s appointment.
As of May 6, 2023, the company had 6,248 stores in the US, 713 stores in Mexico and 83 stores in Brazil for a total store count of 7,044, the release added.
