CHARLOTTE, N.C.—American Tire Distributors Holdings Inc. (ATD) has promoted Wes Stephenson to vice president of operations for its Tire Pros retail franchise subsidiary, with responsibilities for marketing, training and program development.
Mr. Stephenson has been with ATD since 2012, most recently as director of business development at ATD's Salt Lake City distribution center, which was singled out at ATD's 2014 Leadership Conference with three top-achievement awards. Mr. Stephenson was a finalist for the company's President's Cup award.
Mr. Stephenson replaces Dave Crawford, who left ATD in August to become CEO of The Hybrid Shop L.L.C. of Gainesville, Va.
Prior to joining ATD corporate, Mr. Stephenson was a partner for 27 years in 13 Big O franchised retail tire stores and oil change centers in Las Vegas.
During that time (1980-2007) he was president of the association for affiliated Big O franchisees and served on the board of directors of the Tire Industry Association.
“Wes brings proven retail, franchise and marketing leadership with him as he steps into this new role,” said Tire Pros President Dan Brown.
“Our Tire Pros franchise is all about retail and bringing added resources and support to the nation's family-owned independent tire dealer. Having been a multi-store independent dealer himself, Wes relates very well to the challenges and opportunities facing today's independent dealer.”
Charlotte-based ATD took over the Tire Pros franchise business in December 2008 and has rebuilt it into a network of more than 600 franchised independent tire dealer locations across the nation.
“We have had substantial growth in the number of Tire Pros franchisees and stores, representing some of the industry's highest quality dealers,” Mr. Brown said.
“With Wes' extensive retail background and proven track record of success, I am confident that he is well prepared to help us continue to expand the Tire Pros value proposition for our dealers while we continue to grow our retail footprint and build national consumer awareness of the Tire Pros brand,” Mr. Brown added.