UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): February 23, 2005
O'REILLY AUTOMOTIVE, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Missouri 44-0618012
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(State or Other Jurisdiction (IRS Employer Identification No.)
of Incorporation)
233 S. Patterson
Springfield, Missouri 65802
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices)(Zip Code)
417-862-6708
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(Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
(Not Applicable)
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(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
ITEM 5.02 DEPARTURE OF DIRECTORS OR PRINCIPAL OFFICERS
The press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated
herein by reference.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Date: February 25, 2005
O'REILLY AUTOMOTIVE, INC.
By:/s/ James R. Batten
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James R. Batten
Executive Vice President of Finance
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
(principal financial officer)
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit
Number Description
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99.1 Press Release dated February 25, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information contact: David O'Reilly
James R. Batten
(417) 862-3333
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O'REILLY AUTOMOTIVE, INC. ANNOUNCES PROMOTION OF
GREG HENSLEE AND TED WISE TO CEO AND COO AS
PART OF O'REILLY'S MANAGEMENT SUCCESSION PLAN
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Springfield, MO, February 23, 2005 - O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (the "Company")
(NASDAQ: ORLY) announced that, effective immediately, the following steps in the
Company's leadership transition will occur, which are in accordance with the
Company's management succession plan.
Greg Henslee will be promoted to Chief Executive Officer/Co-President and Ted
Wise will be promoted to Chief Operating Officer/Co-President. Both have served
as Co-Presidents of the Company since 1999.
David O'Reilly, the current Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman of the Board
of Directors, will become the Chairman of the Board. As the Chairman, David will
retain an executive management position with responsibility for overall
strategic direction and will provide financial oversight and leadership support
to the Company. He will continue to chair the Company's Finance Committee, which
consists of Greg Henslee, Ted Wise and Jim Batten, EVP and CFO.
Larry O'Reilly, currently the other Co-Chairman of the Board will serve as a
Vice Chairman of the Board. Charlie O'Reilly, currently a director and Vice
Chairman of the Board, and Rosalie O'Reilly-Wooten, a director, will continue to
serve the Company in their current capacities. As a result, the four O'Reilly
family directors will continue to serve with the current prestigious group of
five outside independent directors.
Greg Henslee, CEO
As CEO, Greg will assume administrative responsibility for all corporate
operations and will take the lead role in investor communications. Finance,
merchandise/purchasing/inventory control, distribution, information systems,
advancing technologies and corporate services will report directly to Greg.
Greg, age 44, has been with the Company for 20 years. He has consistently
demonstrated a high level of leadership and expertise. He was hired by O'Reilly
in 1984 as a parts specialist, and has held positions as Assistant Store
Manager, District Manager, and Computer Operations Manager. In 1995 he was
appointed Vice-President of Store Operations and then in 1999 Co-President.
Ted Wise, COO
As COO, in addition to working closely with Greg in an overall corporate role,
Ted will continue to have direct responsibility for store sales/operations,
store acquisitions, store expansion/real estate, advertising/marketing, risk
management and human resources.
Ted, age 54, has been with the company for 34 years. He began his career in 1970
at the retail store level and in 1978, he became the Company's first District
Manager. In 1984 he was named the first O'Reilly Vice-President, in charge of
Store Operations, and in 1990, he was promoted to Executive Vice-President of
Store Operations and Sales. In 1999, Ted was named Co-President.
"We have worked over the last few years to develop a succession plan to
effectively and seamlessly transition certain leadership positions to team
members who can carry on the O'Reilly tradition of excellence. Continuing our
philosophy of promoting from within, we are proud to have qualified and capable
leaders like Greg and Ted assume these new levels of responsibility," stated
David O'Reilly. "I look forward to focusing my leadership efforts towards
implementing the strategic vision we have developed at O'Reilly," added David.
The Company enjoys tremendous industry experience in its top leadership ranks
and has developed a very strong team of departmental and key business function
leaders as well. "We are confident in our management team and their ability to
continue providing industry leading performance, " stated Larry O'Reilly.
O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. is one of the largest specialty retailers of
automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment and accessories in the
United States, serving both the do-it-yourself and professional installer
markets. Founded in 1957 by the O'Reilly family, the Company operated 1,249
stores within the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia as of
December 31, 2004.
The Company claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking
statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements discuss, among other things, expected growth, store development
and expansion strategy, business strategies, future revenues and future
performance. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates,
projections, beliefs and assumptions and are not guarantees of future events and
results. Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions,
including, but not limited to, competition, product demand, the market for auto
parts, the economy in general, inflation, consumer debt levels, governmental
approvals, our ability to hire and retain qualified employees, risks associated
with the integration of acquired businesses, weather, terrorist activities, war
and the threat of war. Actual results may materially differ from anticipated
results described in these forward-looking statements. Please refer to the Risk
Factors sections of the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2003, for more details.