MEMPHIS, Tenn. — AutoZone has announced the election of Robert Grusky and William Crowley to the AutoZone Board of Directors. In accordance with the recently announced agreement with its largest shareholder, ESL Investments, the company agreed to add three new directors to the board, two of whom were to be identified by ESL. Pursuant to the terms of this agreement, Grusky and Crowley were identified by ESL. The company expects to name the third new board member by the annual stockholders’ meeting to be held in December.
In 2000, Grusky founded Hope Capital Management LLC, an investment firm for which he serves as managing member. He also co-founded New Mountain Capital LLC, a private equity firm, in 2000 and was a principal, managing director and member of New Mountain Capital from 2000 to 2005. He remains a senior adviser with the company. From 1998 to 2000, Grusky served as president of RSL Investments Corp., the primary investment vehicle for the Honorable Ronald Lauder. Prior to 1998, Grusky also served in a variety of capacities at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in its Mergers & Acquisitions Department and Principal Investment Area. Grusky is a director of AutoNation Inc. and Strayer Education Inc.
Since March 2005, Crowley has served as a director of Sears Holdings Corp. Additionally, he has served as executive vice president of Sears Holdings Corp. since March 2005 and as chief administrative office of Sears Holdings Corp. since September 2005. Crowley has served as a director of Sears Canada Inc. since March 2005 and as the chairman of the board of Sears Canada Inc. since December 2006. Since January 1999, Crowley has been president and chief operating officer of ESL Investments. Prior to joining ESL Investments, Crowley was a managing director at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He also serves as a director of AutoNation Inc.
In making the announcement, Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO said, "I am excited to welcome these two new directors. We are fortunate to have such outstanding individuals join our board. Both Bob and Bill possess a vast knowledge of retailing and finance, and, additionally, their strategic planning experience will serve AutoZone and our stockholders well."
For more information about AutoZone, go to: www.autozone.com.
