SAN ANTONIO – During the Winter Shareholder’s Meeting of Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance (Alliance) in Boca Raton, FL, the Alliance Board of Directors announced the upcoming retirement of president and CEO, Richard H. Morgan. They officially declared the Board has begun its search for his successor as he contemplates his retirement as one of the leading movers and shakers of the aftermarket industry for the last five decades.
“Richard has been invaluable to our membership as under his leadership our group has grown and become one of the leading aftermarket groups in the world,” said current chairman of the board, Fletcher Lord, Jr. “He will truly be missed when he takes on the next chapter in his life.”
Eli Futerman, current treasurer and previous chairman of the board, said, “Our group has been blessed to have had Richard at the helm for so long. He deserves his retirement but he’ll leave large shoes that will be hard to fill.”
"This isn’t something that I particularly want to do, but I think this is something the Alliance needs to do to prepare itself to find someone to take my place," Morgan told aftermarketNews this afternoon. "There’s no real urgency, however. We wanted to make it official so that people who might be interested can let their interest be known. We really don’t think this is going to happen quickly, but if it did, I’d be prepared to step aside and do everything I could to help. This is nothing, though, that has to happen in a hurry. As Eli (Futerman) told the vendor community, if anyone thinks I’m a lame duck, they better stay out of the way."
Once in retirement, Morgan said there are lots of opportunities, but he has not yet made any definitive plans.
While there has been no exact date set for the transition and appointment of a successor, the time frame established by both the board and Morgan indicates a two year process that will be approached conservatively to ensure the appropriate candidate is installed in such a vital role. Futerman heads up a search committee to find a replacement for Morgan. Qualified candidates should contact him at [email protected].
Morgan’s career began in 1962 with General Motors in the Spark Plug Division. “It’s been a long haul but has been so rewarding that I can’t imagine ever having done anything else,” said Morgan.
