4 Wheel Parts prez an 'undercover boss'

COMPTON, Calif. (Feb. 1, 2016) — You might say Greg Adler, president and CEO of 4 Wheel Parts, is pulling an early April Fools' Day escapade on his employees.

The executive for the truck, Jeep, SUV and off-road tires, wheels, lift kits and accessories marketer, went undercover to meet his employees and keep the company on the right track for the CBS TV program “Undercover Boss.” The episode is scheduled to air from 8-9 p.m., ET/PT on Friday, Feb. 5.

During his undercover “mission,” Mr. Adler worked alongside employees performing a variety of jobs that are described as representing “key aspects of the company's retail sales and distribution operations.”

“4 Wheel Parts is in the midst of an aggressive national expansion and going undercover allowed me the opportunity to step out of my role as CEO and into many of the jobs that are the backbone of our company,” Mr. Adler said in a company press release.

“I learned a great deal about our business from the experience, and as a result we have been able to enact many companywide initiatives. Most importantly, going undercover reinforced the importance of family to me and reminded me that as the business grows, we continue to keep the feeling of family that is the legacy of 4 Wheel Parts.”

“Undercover Boss,” in its seventh season, is a two-time Emmy Award-winning reality series that follows high-level executives as they slip anonymously into the rank-and-file of their own organizations. Each week a different leader “will sacrifice the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their operation,” according to the show.

Compton-based 4 Wheel Parts operates 72 locations across the U.S. and Canada and said it has “aggressive” plans for continued growth. Its service centers install all the products the company sells — including what it calls “the nation's largest inventory of off-road parts and accessories.”

Late last year 4 Wheel Parts acquired a retail store in Virginia Beach, Va., the former Atlantic AutoSports. About the same time the company also held “grand re-openings” at its locations in Cleveland, Norcross, Ga., and Charlotte, N.C., where the outlets were refitted with what the firm called “cutting edge showrooms and installation facilities featuring aftermarket 4x4 parts and accessories.”

4 Wheel Parts is a subsidiary of Transamerican Auto Parts.