New Bapcor boss pulls out of the race
Bapcor’s incoming chief executive, former racing driver Paul Dumbrell, has quit the day before he was due to start in the top job, with the company’s shares also halted ahead of a trading update.
On Tuesday, the auto parts retailer said Mr Dumbrell, whose appointment to the top role was announced on February 1, had “made a personal decision not to join the company’’.
Mr Dumbrell was chief executive of Total Tools for five years until March this year, almost doubling sales revenue over that period.
Before that, he was chief executive of Automotive Brands Group/Metcash Automotive, which was acquired by Bapcor in 2015, when Mr Dumbrell joined the company as chief operating officer of the specialist wholesale division.
In the February announcement to the ASX, Mr Dumbrell said he had planned to take an extended break after Total Tools, but “the opportunity to work alongside the Bapcor team is an exciting opportunity and I am very much looking forward to working with the leadership team and board to drive shareholder value’’.
Bapcor said on Tuesday Mr Dumbrell’s decision was “disappointing’’.
Current interim chief executive Mark Bernhard will continue in the top role while the board starts an executive search, the company said.
It also put its shares into a trading halt ahead of a trading update set for Thursday morning at the latest.
Bapcor’s first-half revenue was up 1.7 per cent to $1.01bn, while net profit fell 15 per cent to $46.9m.
It has a Better than Before cost-out program operating to add $7m-$10m to net profit in the current half.
Bapcor shares last changed hands at $5.78.