Penske Automotive Group Inc., as part of succession planning, named Roger Penske’s son Greg Penske vice chairman of the auto retailer, Penske Automotive said Wednesday. The auto retailer also announced two new COO positions, with all changes effective Jan. 1.
Penske Chairman and CEO Roger Penske announced the moves during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts and investors.
“These new roles will work in tandem both with me and Rob Kurnick, our president, and our executive leadership team, while building further depth to ensure we have the best leadership in place,” Roger Penske, who turns 86 this month, told analysts and investors.
Roger Penske has no plans to retire, Penske Automotive spokesman Anthony Pordon told Automotive News. Penske Sr. has led the company since 1999.
In 2019, Roger Penske told Automotive News that his company has a good succession plan, noting his sons Greg and Roger Jr. each had served on the board of Penske Automotive and Penske Truck Leasing advisory board, switching spots every three years.
Pordon said the two sons will no longer switch boards. Roger Penske Jr., Roger’s oldest son, also on Jan. 1 became vice chair of the Penske Truck Leasing board, Pordon said.
Greg Penske, 59, is CEO of Penske Motor Group, which has Toyota and Lexus dealerships in California and Texas. He joined the Penske Automotive board in May 2020 and previously was a director from May 2014 to May 2017. He has been on Penske Corp.’s board since 1999.
Penske Automotive also created two new COO roles, promoting executives.
Richard Shearing,48, is Penske Automotive’s COO of North American operations, responsible for U.S. retail automotive and North American commercial truck operations. He previously was president of Penske’s Premier Truck Group from February 2015. Shearing started his career as an engineer with Detroit Diesel in 1997. He also has worked for the Sterling and Western Star division of Daimler Trucks North America and Freightliner.
Randall Seymore,49, is COO of Penske Automotive’s international operations, overseeing retail automotive in the U.K., Europe and Japan, and commercial truck and power systems operations in Australia and New Zealand. He most recently was Penske Automotive’s executive vice president of global operations for commercial vehicles and power systems from October 2021. Before that, Seymore was president of Penske Transportations Group International, heading its launch and growth in Australia and New Zealand from August 2013 to October 2021.
Daniel Imbro, an analyst with Stephens Inc., told Automotive News that the executive and board changes will help show investors the company’s management depth.
“These changes appear to add a structure to the business that ultimately could position it to a shift over time or continue it scaling to a larger enterprise,” Imbro said. “Having a more defined structure will make it a more efficient enterprise and shows investors there is a robust management team behind it. Promoting and making these changes with seasoned veterans at Penske really highlights to investors the depth and breadth at Penske that help run the business day-to-day.”
Penske Automotive, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., ranks No. 3 on the most recent Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 195,384 new vehicles in 2021.
