O'Reilly Automotive appoints new CEO

The board at O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) has chosen a new CEO as its current leader prepares to retire.

Co-President Brad Beckham is scheduled to be promoted upon the Jan. 31, 2024, retirement of five-year CEO Greg Johnson, according to a news release.

"On behalf of the board, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Greg for his 41 years of dedicated service to O’Reilly and, most importantly, for his outstanding leadership as CEO during a truly momentous phase of our company’s history," said Greg Henslee, executive board chair, in the release. "Greg has mentored and developed a strong executive leadership team who led the company through a period of unprecedented growth, driving record profitability."

Johnson early this year relinquished the president role to Beckham, who was executive vice president and chief operating officer, and Brent Kirby, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer, according to past reporting.

Kirby is slated to become sole president when Beckham is promoted and Johnson retires, according to the release.

Beckham, 44, has been an O'Reilly Automotive employee since 1996. Kirby, 55, has been with O'Reilly since 2018 and previously worked with Lowe's Cos. Inc.

Beckham is set to become the fourth CEO in O'Reilly's history.

"I am extremely humbled at the tremendous privilege it is to represent our over 88,000 dedicated and hardworking team members," he said in the release. “When I joined team O’Reilly as a parts professional in 1996, we focused on the fundamental concept of providing excellent customer service each and every day; 27 years later that principle is alive and well and remains the foundation for our continued success."

During 2022, Johnson was the top-paid employee at O'Reilly. His total compensation was $5.5 million, according to past reporting. Beckham's was $3.1 million, and Kirby also earned $3.1 million.