American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) announced the planned retirement of president and chief executive William E. ("Bill") Berry. A specific retirement date has not been set, and Berry will remain in his current role until a successor has been appointed.
Upon his retirement, Mr. Berry will transition into an advisor role for the company. ATD said both internal and external candidates will be considered to replace Mr. Berry.
"It has been my privilege to lead ATD through a period of substantial growth and to build a company that is ready to shape the future of our industry," says Berry.
"While I am certainly proud of the growth we have achieved, my greatest accomplishment has been assembling a team that I believe is undoubtedly the best of any distributor in any industry. ATD colleagues focus each and every day on delivering the ATD advantage to our customers and that focus and work ethic have enabled us to become the company we are today," Mr. Berry added.
Berry will retire from his current CEO role after posting over a 30-year track record of success in the tire industry, beginning in 1984 when he was the corporate controller for ITCO Tire Company.
Berry joined ATD in 1998 as a result of ATD's merger with ITCO and served as senior vice president of finance for the Southeast Division. He was named executive vice president and chief operating officer in Jan. 2002 and was named president and COO in May 2003. .Berry assumed the president and chief executive officer roles in April 2009.
In his tenure as president and chief executive officer, Berry led the company through a period of rapid growth, which included the company's international expansion into Canada.
At the end of 2008, ATD posted net sales of $1.96 billion and a passenger and light truck tire replacement market share of approximately 9% by operating through 83 U.S. distribution centers. In its 2014 filing, ATD reported net sales of $5.03 billion and a passenger plus light truck tire replacement market share of approximately 14% in the U.S. and 25% in Canada by operating through over 140 North American distribution centers.
