Lowe’s veteran tapped for Advance Auto CFO seat

Dive Brief:

Advance Auto Parts said Wednesday that it appointed Lowe’s veteran Ryan Grimsland to take over as its CFO.
Grimsland, whose career at Lowe’s spanned nearly two decades, will take the finance reins at Advance Auto effective Nov. 27, according to a press release. Tony Iskander, who has served as interim CFO for the auto parts supplier since August, will continue in his role as senior vice president of finance and treasurer going forward.
“Following a robust search, we are confident that Ryan’s deep finance, retail, strategy development and transformation experience will be invaluable as we execute on our comprehensive business review and work to realize Advance’s full potential,” Advance Auto CEO Shane O’Kelly said in the release.

Dive Insight:

The appointment comes as Raleigh, North Carolina-based Advance Auto is focused on a comprehensive review of the business after posting weak financial results this year.

The company’s third quarter earnings report, unveiled Wednesday, showed its gross profits dropping to $1 billion, a year-over-year decrease of 16.3%. In August, the company reported that its gross profits fell to $1.1 billion during the second quarter, a decrease of 3.2% compared with a year earlier.

While releasing its August earnings, the company also announced that O’Kelly was named its new CEO, effective Sept. 11, as previously reported by CFO Dive. He succeeded Tom Greco, who retired. In the same announcement, the company said its then-CFO Jeff Shepherd had stepped down and Iskander was named as interim replacement.

On Wednesday, O’Kelly said the company is moving forward with a “sense of urgency” to stabilize and return to profitable growth. He said the company is taking a “disciplined approach” to the evaluation of all assets including corporate stores, among other steps.

“We are early in this process and expect to share more as we progress in the thorough evaluation of our entire business,” he said during his first earnings call as Advance Auto’s CEO.

The company’s third quarter gross profit margin was negatively impacted by several factors, including wage inflation and elevated supply chain expenses, Iskander said during the call.

Grimsland, 46, brings more than 20 years of corporate finance, treasury, financial planning, and retail strategy and transformation experience, according to the Wednesday press release. He has served in various leadership posts at Lowe’s during his 17-year tenure at the company, including senior vice president of strategy and transformation since January. He also previously served as a senior vice president of corporate finance at the company.

Prior to joining Lowe’s, he held positions in operations and finance at Haverty’s Furniture and UBS.

The incoming finance chief will be entitled to an annual base salary of $675,000 at Advance Auto and, beginning in 2024, will be eligible to participate in the company’s annual incentive bonus plan, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. He will also receive a one-time cash signing bonus in the amount of $750,000, which is subject to repayment in part or full under certain separation circumstances, the filing said.