LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Replacement Parts Inc. announced several management changes at its company-wide meeting in Branson, Mo. President and CEO Fletcher Lord Jr. shared the news with other company managers during the conference’s opening session.
Among the changes announced, Fletcher Lord Jr., president and CEO, has moved into the role of chairman of Replacement Parts Inc. Bill Schlatterer, executive vice president and chief operations officer, became president and CEO, and Fletcher Lord III, Northern region sales manager, was promoted to vice president.
The company’s board of directors announced the retirement of director Edward Penick after 40 years of service. Penick is the retired chairman of Worthen Bank and Trust Co., which was the largest banking company in Arkansas at the time of his chairmanship. Today, it is part of Bank of America.
Robert Raff Jr. was elected to fill the board seat vacated by Penick. He is the son of Bob Raff, former president of Parts Warehouse Inc., who served AWDA as chairman and was honored as Leader of the Year in 1993. Raff Jr. is currently president of Stanley Black & Decker.
Replacement Parts Inc. traces its roots to Crow-Burlingame Co., founded in 1919 by W.R. Crow, grandfather of Fletcher Lord Jr. and his brother Bobby Lord, along with his partner J.G. Burlingame. The pair later also formed Parts Warehouse Inc. and today, both Crow-Burlingame Co. and PWI are subsidiaries of Replacement Parts Inc.
In his comments at the meeting in Branson, Lord stated,
“This doesn’t mean that I’m sailing off into the sunset and won’t be around much anymore. It is more a reflection of the roles currently in place at RPI. Bill Schlatterer has been functioning as the company president for the
past several years and has now been given that title.”
Lord is also a former chairman of AWDA and was honored as AWDA Leader of the Year in 2009.
Fletcher Lord III, in his new role as vice president of RPI, marks the entry of the fourth generation of Mr. Crow’s family in the leadership of the company.
“My brother Bobby and I know that not many people are fortunate enough to have a company that has been in existence for nearly 100 years and still be looking forward to the next generation of family involvement,” Lord Jr. stated. “We both feel blessed to have our families joining us in the business.”
