Canadian Tire Appoints Veteran to Head Automotive Business

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited has appointed a new head of its automotive operations as it aligns operations and senior leadership to execute the company’s growth strategy announced earlier this year.
Glenn Butt has been promoted to executive vice president, Customer Experience and Automotive – responsible for the in-store customer experience and store operations at Canadian Tire, leading the company’s integrated automotive business and overseeing the company’s relationship with its 482 dealers across the country. This role, which reports directly to the CEO, highlights the emphasis being placed on these three critical areas. A long-time company executive, Butt has extensive knowledge of the automotive category and 14 years’ experience working with the company’s dealers.
“Today’s changes are critical to the evolution of Canadian Tire as a customer-centred, performance-driven company,” said Stephen Wetmore, President and CEO. “We have to deliver faster execution of our growth strategy. We have to improve the customer experience. We have to recognize that our customers look to us to provide all the solutions for the jobs and joys of family life – and that means we have to start approaching them as one company, instead of five inter-related businesses. In doing so, we will deliver the top line growth we are capable of, build a world-class customer experience and take unnecessary costs out of our business.”
The six principal business categories that comprise the company include: Living, Fixing, Playing led by Mike Arnett, executive vice-president, CTC, and President, Canadian Tire Retail; Automotive led by Glenn Butt, EVP, Customer Experience and Automotive; Apparel led by Paul Wilson, President, Mark’s; and, Financial Services led by Dean McCann, President, Canadian Tire Financial Services.
Also Mike Arnett has been promoted to executive vice-president of Canadian Tire Corporation with expanded responsibilities for company-wide strategic marketing, including the roll-out of the new customer centric retailing and loyalty programs, and brand stewardship. He will also drive a critical element of the company’s productivity program by overseeing merchandise sourcing capabilities for the organization and engaging leading experts to improve the efficiency of the company’s merchandise procurement capabilities, which carries significant opportunity with more than $5 billion in annual expenditures. Arnett remains President of Canadian Tire Retail.
Pat Sinnott, executive vice-president, Supply Chain and Technology is responsible for the company’s technology and supply chain, which includes both Canadian Tire Retail and Mark’s. Reporting directly to the CEO, he has been assigned the leadership of a significant productivity initiative to improve the effectiveness of core processes throughout the organization. The productivity initiative will reduce cycle times and cost, and increase the extent to which groups throughout the organization use common, best-in-class processes that are well supported by commercially available technologies.
At the same time, the company has made substantial progress in the centralization of its shared service functions – Finance, Human Resources, IT, Legal, Communications & Corporate Affairs, and Corporate Strategy and Real Estate – to reduce duplication of work and remove costs from the organization. These shared services functions will operate as centres of excellence within the organization, providing expertise and services to all six business categories – Living, Playing, Fixing, Automotive, Apparel and Financial Services.
Some senior managers and employees are leaving the company and as a result, the company will record a one-time pre-tax charge of approximately $15 million in the third quarter of 2010. The flow through of these cost savings will benefit 2011 performance by approximately $0.11 per share.
Two long-term officers of the company, Huw Thomas EVP Financial Strategy and Performance, and Stan Pasternak, SVP and Treasurer, will retire over the coming months. Responsibilities will transition to Marco Marrone, EVP Finance and CFO.

Click on www.autoserviceworld.com for more news.