ROANOKE, Va. — Advance Auto has named George Sherman president of the company as part of its effort to simplify company leadership.
In his role as president, Sherman will be responsible for growing commercial and driving excellence throughout the company’s operations. Sherman will lead the company’s commercial sales, field operations, store operations support, merchandising, marketing, supply chain and e-commerce teams.
Sherman served as an officer in the United States Air Force for seven years. Afterward, he was with Target for 15 years where he worked his way from store manager to regional VP, then served as SVP, store operations for their Mervyn’s department stores. He then moved to Home Depot where he led their installation business as SVP and president of their home services division. Most recently, Sherman served as SVP, Best Buy Services, which included leading the Geek Squad. Sherman will report to Darren Jackson, CEO and will relocate to Roanoke, Va.
Charles Tyson, who currently serves as SVP, merchandising and marketing, has been promoted to EVP, merchandising, marketing and supply chain. Tyson joined Advance in 2008 as SVP merchandising and has been instrumental in improving the company’s gross profit rate, strengthening its parts assortment and positioning the company as an industry leader in inventory availability. In his new role, Tyson will report to George Sherman, president.
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Jim Durkin, who currently serves as president, Autopart International (AI), will assume the new role of SVP commercial business. Durkin will be responsible for the company’s commercial sales team, commercial marketing and AI. Durkin joined AI in 2011 and under his leadership AI has seen its largest period of growth and expansion. Before joining AI, Durkin led the global business segment of OfficeMax where he served as EVP. Prior to OfficeMax, Durkin served as VP sales for Aramark Corporation. Durkin will report to Sherman and will relocate to Roanoke, Va. All changes outlined above are effective April 21.
Tammy Finley, who most recently served as VP employment counsel and government affairs, has been promoted to the role of SVP human resources, effective immediately. Finley joined Advance Auto Parts in 1998 and has served in several human resources and legal capacities including VP human resources. She will report to Darren Jackson, CEO and will continue to be based in Roanoke, Va.
“I am thrilled to welcome George to the Advance Team and I am excited about the promotions of Charles, Jim and Tammy. Advance’s future success lies in our ability to empower and enable our team to drive outcomes and grow sales,” said Jackson. “In order to allow our leaders to better inspire their teams, serve their customers and grow our business, we needed to simplify our business alignment and clarify roles so we can work together to build on our capabilities, accelerate our Commercial growth and improve our profitability.”
As a result of these changes, Darren Jackson, president and CEO will continue to operate as the company’s chief executive officer and will focus on strategic and leadership development. Additionally, the role of chief operating officer, which is currently held by Kevin Freeland, has been eliminated. The role of SVP commercial sales and marketing, which is currently held by Donna Broome, has also been eliminated.
“I would like to thank both Kevin and Donna for their many contributions to Advance and wish them the best in their future endeavors,” said Jackson.