Sam Mitchell to
retire as CEO and member of the Board of Directors, effective
September 30, 2023
Current President, Lori Flees, named CEO
LEXINGTON, Ky., Aug. 9, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV), a trusted leader in
preventive automotive maintenance delivering quick and convenient
service, today announced that Sam
Mitchell is retiring as Chief Executive Officer and a member
of the Board of Directors, effective September 30, 2023. Mitchell will be succeeded by
Lori Flees, current President of
Retail Services, as the Company's Chief Executive Officer. Flees
will also join the Company's Board.
Rich Freeland, Chairman of the
Valvoline Board of Directors, said, "On behalf of the Board, I want
to thank Sam for his leadership of Valvoline for the last 21 years.
During this time, Sam has led the Company through a period of
exceptional growth and performance, which included a very
successful IPO in 2016, and most recently, the restructuring and
separation of Valvoline's Retail Services and Global Products
businesses. Today Valvoline is the leader in preventive automotive
maintenance, and it is from this position of strength that the
Board has accepted Sam's retirement decision."
"Leading this Company has been the highlight of my career. I
will always be grateful for the experience of working with the
talented and dedicated people at Valvoline, and I wish them all
future success," said Mitchell. "I have had the privilege of
working side by side with Lori for the past year. Throughout her
career and in our time working together, she has proven to be a
strategic thinker with a natural ability to unite teams and drive
results. The Board and I have great confidence that she is the
right leader for Valvoline as the Company focuses on its future as
a high-growth, high-margin, pure-play retail services
business."
Flees has served as President of Valvoline Retail Services for
the past year. In this role, she has led the Company's operations,
driving top and bottom-line growth to new record levels. She will
continue in her role as President, in addition to serving as the
Company's CEO.
"Lori is a talented executive with a proven track record of
delivering results," continued Freeland. "Over the past year, Lori
has become a highly respected member of the management team. Her
substantial retail and leadership experience uniquely qualify her
to lead Valvoline as it continues to deliver best-in-class retail
automotive services. She has quickly gained intimate knowledge of
the business and has galvanized the team around Valvoline's
strategic direction. Lori's experience in strategy development,
incubating innovative retail capabilities, and her deep consumer
focus make her the ideal choice to oversee Valvoline's next phase
of growth as a pure-play retailer."
"It is an honor and a privilege to be named the next CEO of
Valvoline," said Flees. "Together with our talented team and strong
franchise partners, we will continue to deliver a quick, easy, and
trusted customer experience, while investing strategically to drive
best-in-class value creation for our shareholders. I want to thank
the Board for their trust in me. I also would like to express my
appreciation to Sam Mitchell for his
mentorship and successful leadership of Valvoline through a
critical time of change and growth."
About Lori Flees
Flees
was named President of Valvoline's Retail Services business segment
in April 2022. In her role as
President, she oversees Valvoline's fast-growing retail services
business, which operates more than 1,800 Company-owned and
franchised service center locations serving consumer and fleet
customers.
Flees started her career in the automotive industry 35 years ago
within General Motor's GMC Truck division. After 17 years at Bain
& Company, a global strategy consulting firm, Flees spent
nearly a decade at Walmart where most recently she led all aspects
of Walmart's Health & Wellness business across more than 4,800
locations. She joined Walmart to lead corporate strategy and
development, and later moved into leadership roles that included
the incubation of new retail capabilities via the deployment of
emerging technologies, strategic partnership development with
companies such as Google and Microsoft, and the leadership of the
pharmacy and optical business of Sam's Club.
Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Conference
Call
In a separate release issued today, Valvoline Inc.
announced its financial results for the third quarter ended
June 30, 2023. Valvoline's management
will host a live audio webcast today, August
9, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. EDT to
discuss financial results and business highlights. The audio
webcast, along with supplemental financial information, can be
accessed via the investor relations page of the Company's website
at investors.Valvoline.com.
About Valvoline Inc.
The Quick, Easy, Trusted name in
preventive vehicle maintenance, Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV) leads
the industry with automotive service innovations that simplify
consumers' lives. With an average consumer rating of 4.6 out of 5
stars*, Valvoline Inc. has built the model for transparency and
convenience to take the worry out of vehicle care. From 15-minute
stay-in-your-car oil changes to battery replacements and tire
rotations, the Company's model offers maintenance solutions for all
types of vehicles. The Company operates and franchises more than
1,800 service center locations through its Valvoline Instant Oil
ChangeSM and Valvoline Great Canadian Oil Change retail
brands, and helps independent operators grow their businesses
through its nearly 300 Valvoline Express Care locations in
North America. To learn more, or
to find a Valvoline Inc. service center near you, visit
vioc.com.
™ Trademark, Valvoline Inc. or its subsidiaries, registered in
various countries
SM Service mark, Valvoline Inc. or its
subsidiaries, registered in various countries
* Based on a survey of more than 600,000 Valvoline Instant Oil
Change customers annually
For Further Information
Investor Relations
Elizabeth
B. Russell
+1 (859) 357-3155
ir@valvoline.com
Media Relations
Michele
Gaither Sparks
+1 (859) 230-8097
michele.sparks@valvoline.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/valvoline-announces-ceo-succession-plan-301896554.html
SOURCE Valvoline Inc.