ATD chief Berry to retire

A successor is being sought for William E. Berry, the president and chief executive of US-based firm American Tire Distributors, Inc. (ATD). Berry has announced his intention to retire, however no specific retirement date has been set and Berry will remain in his current role until a successor is appointed; after this date he will serve the company as an advisor.

“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,” said 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.”

William Berry joined the tyre industry in 1984 as corporate controller for ITCO Tire Company, and following ITCO’s merger with ATD in 1998 he served as senior vice-president of finance for ATD’s Southeast Division. He was named the company’s executive vice-president and chief operating officer in January 2002 and became president and chief operating officer in May 2003. Berry assumed the president and chief executive officer roles in April 2009 and has led the company since that time.

ATD considers Berry’s tenure as president and chief executive a period of rapid growth for the company. The tyre distributor expanded into Canada during this time (27 of ATD’s 140 distribution centres are now located there) and raised its share of the US passenger and light truck tyre replacement market from nine to 14 per cent. Net sales of US$1.96 billion at the end of 2008 had grown to $5.03 in the company’s 2014 filing.

Both internal and external candidates will be considered in the search for Berry’s successor, ATD reports.