Advance Auto looks for turnaround after leadership shakeup

Advance Auto, one of the largest public companies in the Triangle, is making big changes in an effort to turn itself around.

Driving the news: The auto parts retailer said Wednesday that Shane O'Kelly, an executive at Home Depot, will replace Tom Greco as CEO on Sept. 11. Greco announced his retirement earlier this year.

• At the same time, the company revealed the departure of CFO Jeffrey Shepherd.

Why it matters: Advance Auto was one of two of Raleigh's S&P 500 companies until this week, when its stock price dropped far enough to take it off the list. Shares of the company have fallen more than 65% over the past year.

• The company has around 700 workers at its Raleigh headquarters in North Hills.

State of play: Advance Auto's stock price has dropped after the company's profits came in lower than it forecasted.

• Supply shortages and wage inflation have been particularly challenging, with the company struggling to keep parts in stock or raise prices, its executives said during an earnings call Wednesday.
• Analysts, though, have noted many of its competitors, like AutoZone and O'Reilly, have not had the same issues.
• "In our view, (Advance's) issues are, likely, largely its own," Brian Nagel, an analyst for Oppenheimer, wrote earlier this year.

What they're saying: The company's interim board chairman, Gene Lee, said Wednesday morning that Advance is undergoing a review of its operations and that it hopes to return to profitable growth in a year's time.

The big picture: Raleigh's economic developers have desperately tried to attract more large public companies to Raleigh — which has for years been known more as a startup hub and an attractive place to put satellite offices.

• Winning a corporate headquarters can often bring higher salaries and more community involvement.

Flashback: Advance received state incentives in 2018 to officially move its headquarters to Raleigh from Virginia — though its leadership had already been in place in Raleigh

• The company backed out of the incentive agreement last year, however, after it said it couldn't hire enough people in Raleigh due to remote work.