IRVING, Texas – Heartland Automotive Services Inc., America’s largest Jiffy Lube Franchisee, announced that Brett Ponton, the company’s president and CEO, is leaving the company and that Jim Marcum has been appointed interim CEO. Ponton has served as president and CEO since 2009 and, during his tenure, the company has refreshed all of its locations, revitalized the company’s marketing efforts and led the introduction of new services for the brand.
Heartland Automotive Services operates more than 545 Jiffy Lube locations from coast to coast serving nearly 5 million guests each year and employs with more than 4,000.
Marcum comes to Heartland with a wealth of executive leadership and expansive retail knowledge. During his career, Marcum has overseen all facets of retail operations from strategic planning and marketing to finance and logistics in both public and private sectors. Most recently, Marcum served as president and CEO of Central Parking Corp., where he oversaw a new marketing strategy leveraging digital technology. He has also presided over large retail electronics companies Circuit City and Ultimate Electronics in the CEO capacity as well. While at Circuit City, Marcum led the largest re-branding effort in company history and drove new customer service strategies.
Heartland Automotive Services was acquired by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners in August 2012. T. Scott King, a company director, commented on the hiring of Marcum, saying, "We are thrilled to have Jim Marcum join Heartland with his wealth of retail experience and knowledge. Jim is a seasoned executive and I have great confidence that Jim will lead a talented existing management team at Heartland to continued growth and success."
