A day before it releases its December half results, car parts group, Bapcor has revealed its new CEO in the shape of its chief financial officer.
Mr Meehan has been the Company’s Acting Chief Executive Officer since December and before that, Chief Financial Officer since joining the company in 2020.
Mr Meehan is a former chief financial officer of Treasury Wine Estates and explosives group Orica.
He replaces long time CEO, Darryl Abotomey who left the company on December 6 in somewhat controversial circumstances. He was due to retire at the end of February (this month) but his departure was brought forward by the board.
In a statement at the time the company said the earlier than planned departure followed what was described as a “marked deterioration” in the relationship between the board and the about to retire CEO.
In the statement from Bapcor on Tuesday, Executive Chair Margaret Haseltine said: “The Board is delighted to confirm Noel’s appointment as Bapcor’s CEO. The Board has invested considerable time and effort in CEO succession. Having completed an extensive global search that included a number of high calibre candidates, we are confident that Noel is the best person to lead Bapcor.
“In performing his duties as Acting Chief Executive Officer, Noel has ably demonstrated his depth of knowledge, understanding and passion for the business, its strategic opportunity and sustainable success. Noel is energised to simplify and grow the business, is very well placed to deliver on the organisation’s immediate, emerging and long term objectives, and he has garnered the support of the Group Leadership Team on that journey.
“Importantly, Noel has proven to have an extremely strong fit with the desired culture and values.
“Noel’s career to date has seen him successfully navigate considerable national and international business challenges of great complexity, breadth and scale. Noel has demonstrated an ability to simultaneously drive growth in revenues, margins and return on capital and has been central to strategic plan development and execution. In addition, he has deep capital markets (debt and equity) and international M&A experience.”
Mr Meehan was quoted in the statement as saying his “focus will be on the Company’s continued strong performance, being responsive to an evolving external environment and delivering on Bapcor’s future growth opportunity. Having worked with the Board, Group Leadership Team and the broader team as both CFO and Acting CEO, I am excited by the opportunity to lead the company at this stage of its journey and deliver long-term value for all Bapcor stakeholders.”
