Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) (Atlanta, GA)

GPC, the corporate parent of Motion Industries, announced future leadership teams and board leadership for its Automotive and Industrial businesses as it advances its planned separation into two independent, publicly traded companies. Upon completion of the separation, the company's Automotive business will operate as Genuine Parts Co. and its Industrial business will operate as Motion.

Court Carruthers, a current GPC Board member, has been appointed CEO-elect of GPC, effective immediately, and will assume the role of CEO upon completion of the separation, which is targeted for the first quarter of 2027. Will Stengel (in photo above), GPC’s current chairman and CEO, will join Motion as chairman and CEO upon completion of the separation.

Jean-Jacques Lafont, a current GPC Board member and co-founder of GPC's European operations, has been appointed non-executive chairman of GPC upon completion of the separation, bringing deep automotive aftermarket and independent-owner experience, global business expertise and a proven track record of organic and inorganic growth.

Will Stengel has served as a member of the GPC board of directors and as the company's CEO since June 2024. He joined GPC in 2019 as executive VP and chief transformation officer, bringing nearly two decades of leadership and business-to-business distribution experience. He previously served as president of GPC from 2021 to 2023 and as president and COO beginning in 2023.

Prior to joining GPC, Stengel held numerous executive leadership roles at HD Supply, including during its transition from a private to public company. Stengel also held strategy and M&A roles at The Home Depot and in investment banking.

James Howe will continue to lead Motion's day-to-day operations and strategy in an elevated role as president and COO, effective immediately. Prior to being named president of Motion in 2024, Howe served as Motion's chief commercial officer and chief technology officer. He has more than 30 years of experience at Motion, having held numerous field leadership roles before moving to the corporate office in 2019.

Howard Yu will join Motion as executive VP and CFO, bringing extensive finance, capital markets and public company experience as Motion prepares to launch as an independent public company.

Yu most recently served as executive VP and CFO of Ball Corp. Previously, he served as CFO of Envista Holdings, a publicly traded global company and spin-off from Danaher Corp., and helped lead its separation and initial public offering in 2019.

Kevin Stone, currently senior VP , IT and Procurement, will serve as Motion’s executive VP, chief information officer, and Billy Hamilton, currently senior, People, will serve as executive VP, chief human resources officer of Motion, effective immediately.

Court Carruthers is a current member of the GPC board of Directors and brings extensive operating and executive leadership experience in business-to-business distribution. Most recently, he served as CEO of TricorBraun, a global packaging distribution leader with 110 locations across North America, Europe and Australasia.

During his tenure, revenue and EBITDA tripled while the company significantly expanded its global footprint. Previously, he spent 13 years at W.W. Grainger in various global leadership roles, most recently as group president, Americas, where he led a $9-billion distribution business across North and South America. Over his career, Carruthers has completed more than 100 acquisitions and brings deep experience in commercial growth, supply chain optimization, digital transformation and international expansion.

Carruthers also brings earlier experience in the automotive aftermarket and independent-owner model through Grainger's former automotive joint venture in Canada. He has significant M&A, capital markets and public company governance expertise, including board service with US Foods, Ryerson Holding Corp., Foundation Building Materials and Dollarama. Carruthers holds a Doctor of Business Administration from Pepperdine University and is a CPA (Canada).