Holley Inc., a designer, marketer and manufacturer of high-performance products for car and truck enthusiasts, has announced the appointment of Matthew Stevenson as the company’s new president and chief executive officer (CEO). On June 6, Stevenson will replace Interim President and CEO, Michelle Gloeckler, who will remain with Holley as a member of the board.
Stevenson joins Holley from Blue Bird Corp., where he served as president and CEO. While at Blue Bird, he led a comprehensive operational and financial turnaround of an iconic, nearly 100-year-old American company. Stevenson has nearly 25 years of experience transforming organizations and leading growth and turnarounds of large industrial and consumer companies in both the private and public sectors. He gained world-class experience in senior leadership roles with companies such as Daimler, Bridgestone and Terminix. He also helped found and serves on the board of a consumer home services company backed by Imperial Capital, a Toronto-based private equity firm. For the past two years, Georgia Trend Magazine has named him one of Georgia’s most influential business leaders.
Stevenson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management with a concentration in Marketing from Kettering University. He also has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Matthew Rubel, executive chairman of the board, stated, “Matt brings a rare combination of brand-building capability and operational excellence while having a reputation as a high-quality leader. His proven track record of growth and value creation has been transformative through manufacturing operations, digital, product development and innovation, branding, sales and distribution optimization. As President and CEO, his expertise will enable Holley to focus on the enthusiast while strategically aligning our organization to deliver strong free cash flow and return the company’s growth and margin performance to historical levels. In addition, Matt is an auto enthusiast and has a personal passion for the motor life. We are excited to have him lead the team.”
Stevenson added, “I am excited to lead this incredibly talented team. As an automotive enthusiast myself, my passion for the industry and experience with leading innovative consumer brands is fully aligned with Holley’s vision to inspire and enable our enthusiast customers in their automotive adventures by bringing innovation, discovery, and fun to motor life. I see tremendous value in the power of the brand portfolio, the successful track record of industry-leading product innovation, and the consumer-focus channel strategy that are core to the Holley story. This foundation, combined with a proven and repeatable acquisition platform, provides an extremely compelling growth opportunity for Holley.”
Rubel continued, “We all want to thank Michelle for her commitment to and stewardship of the business during her time as Interim CEO. She brought the team together in a motivating and positive manner. In addition, many members of the board are to be thanked for their hard work with the team during this transition. We are extremely pleased with Matthew’s appointment and look forward to his many contributions to the business.”
