PHILADELPHIA – Pep Boys has announced the appointment of Jeffrey Rachor as its new president and chief executive officer (CEO). Rachor, who is expected to start in his position with Pep Boys by March 26, was also appointed to the board of directors.

Rachor, 45, most recently served as president, chief operating officer and a director of Sonic Automotive Inc., a Fortune 300 company and the third largest automotive dealership chain in the United States. Rachor joined Sonic Automotive in 1997 and has served in a variety of key operations positions with them. He has more than 20 years of experience in automotive retailing, including extensive experience with multi-unit service center operations.

Rachor replaces Larry Stevenson, who resigned from Pep Boys in July of 2006 amid pressure from the company’s two largest shareholders to turn around the business and prop up falling stock prices. Since Stevenson’s departure, William Leonard has served as interim CEO. In connection with Rachor’s appointment, Leonard will resume his position as non-executive chairman of the board. Leonard said, “We are extremely pleased that our exhaustive search has led us to such an accomplished executive with extensive automotive service experience. The Board of Directors was unanimous in its support of hiring Jeff.”

Rachor said, “I am very excited about the opportunity to lead a company with a household name like Pep Boys and look forward to working with the Board of Directors and the entire team of almost 20,000 associates to build Pep Boys to new levels of prosperity.”

Prior to joining Sonic in 1997, Rachor served as chief operating officer and general manager of Nelson Bowers Dealerships and held positions with American Suzuki Motor and General Motors corporations. Rachor earned a bachelor of arts degree from Michigan State University.