BOUCHERVILLE, Quebec – Uni-Select Inc. has announced that William Alexander is leaving his position as president and chief operating officer (COO), U.S. Automotive, effective today. As a result, Uni-Select is launching a recruitment process for the appointment of a new chief operating officer for its U.S. Automotive activities.
Meanwhile, and until the recruitment process is completed, Dennis Welvaert will be acting president and COO, U.S. Automotive. Welvaert retired as president of Dayco North American Aftermarket Division in 2011. He is chairman of the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium and is former chairman of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA). While with Dayco, Welvaert held senior executive-level positions in the OEM, industrial and aftermarket divisions. He has more than 40 years of experience in the automotive industry.
In addition, Uni-Select announced that given the declining performance of its United States automotive parts distribution activities over the past few quarters, and the good results delivered by its Canadian operations as well as its U.S. paint and related products, the company’s management and board of directors have agreed to pursue a formal review of strategic alternatives centered on its U.S. automotive operations. Uni-Select said this process is aimed at unlocking additional value for shareholders. RBC Capital Markets has been retained to assist the company in conducting this review.
In 2012, the corporation initiated a renewal process for its board of directors. Two new directors joined the board while three directors left in the past year. In addition, subject to shareholder approval at the upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders, three new independent directors are expected to join the board while two directors are retiring, resulting in 50 percent of new directors since the renewal process has been initiated.
"With the help of our advisers and the support of our board, we will leverage our assets, our expertise and our capabilities in the United States to generate the best value, creating opportunities available for the benefit of all our shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers," said Richard Roy, president and CEO of Uni-Select. "In the meantime, we will maintain our objectives of pursuing our optimization plan and the reduction of expenses, reducing the level of indebtedness and achieving our sales strategy to diversify and increase market share."
Uni-Select said it has not established a definitive timeline to complete its review and will be assessing all available alternatives within the next few months.
