Genuine Parts sets GPC and Motion leadership ahead of planned split

Genuine Parts Company is dividing its future leadership along with its businesses, assigning director Court Carruthers to automotive and current Chairman and CEO Will Stengel to industrial distributor Motion. The September 9 announcement gives the planned successors their places ahead of a separation targeted for the first quarter of 2027, putting two sizable distributors on course for separate management and investment decisions.

The appointments fill in a plan first announced on February 17, 2026. Automotive will retain the Genuine Parts Company name, while Industrial will operate as Motion. Stengel remains chairman and CEO of the combined company until closing, when Carruthers is due to become GPC’s chief executive.

Lead Director Russ Hardin said the board conducted a deliberate selection process and expressed confidence that the executives and their teams would position both companies to “pursue their distinct strategies, accelerate growth and create long-term shareholder value.” Delivering those benefits will depend on how the businesses operate and invest after separation.

Two distributors with different customers and economics

Automotive supplies the vehicle aftermarket through brands including NAPA and Repco, with operations across North America, Europe and Australasia. Its opportunities include serving commercial customers who perform repairs for motorists—the market the company calls “do-it-for-me.” Motion serves industrial customers in North America and Australasia, supplying maintenance and repair products and services including fluid power, automation and conveyance.

The February announcement puts their relative scale in perspective. Automotive generated more than $15 billion in sales and $1.2 billion of EBITDA in 2025, according to GPC. Industrial generated approximately $9 billion in sales and more than $1.1 billion of EBITDA. Automotive therefore had substantially greater revenue, while Industrial produced nearly as much EBITDA, a measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The rounded figures illustrate the businesses’ different earnings profiles without establishing their future standalone results.

Their investment agendas also differ. Automotive plans to prioritize sales and stores, technology, supply chain improvements and bolt-on acquisitions. Its technology and supply chain transformation programs are intended to support growth, margins and more efficient use of working capital. Motion’s priorities include commercial capabilities, technology, supply chain investment and strategic acquisitions.

Separate companies would be able to tailor financing and capital allocation to those priorities. Both businesses are targeting investment-grade credit metrics, according to the February announcement. Those targets describe the intended financial footing of the future companies.

Leadership changes begin before closing

The accompanying Form 8-K gives more precise appointment dates than the September release’s “effective immediately” wording. Carruthers became CEO-elect on September 8. Bert Nappier added chief operating officer responsibilities to his existing executive vice president and chief financial officer role effective September 6. Motion President James Howe also became chief operating officer on September 6.

Jean-Jacques Lafont, a current GPC director and co-founder of its European operations, is set to become non-executive chairman of GPC upon separation. That would separate the chairman and chief executive roles at Automotive; Stengel is slated to hold both positions at Motion.

Carruthers brings experience running distributors and expanding them through acquisitions. He served as TricorBraun’s president and CEO from October 2017 to May 2025 and has since been its vice chair, according to the filing. GPC said revenue and EBITDA tripled during his tenure as chief executive. He previously spent 13 years at W.W. Grainger and has completed more than 100 acquisitions over his career, according to the company.

Stengel’s background includes an earlier public-company transition. Before joining GPC in 2019, he held executive roles at industrial distributor HD Supply, including during its move from private to public ownership. He has been GPC’s CEO since June 2024.

Motion’s team combines that experience with operating continuity. Howe has more than 30 years at Motion and will continue to lead its day-to-day operations and strategy. Incoming finance chief Howard Yu most recently held the CFO role at Ball Corporation; previously, he helped lead Envista’s separation from Danaher and initial public offering in 2019. That experience is relevant as Motion prepares to operate independently.

Kevin Stone and Billy Hamilton become Motion’s chief information officer and chief human resources officer, respectively, effective immediately under the September 9 announcement. GPC’s planned team also includes Jenn Hulett as chief people officer and Chris Galla as general counsel and corporate secretary, with Alain Masse leading North America Automotive, Franck Baduel leading European Automotive and Rob Cameron leading Australasia.

Executive pay changes accompany the transition

The filing sets Carruthers’ annual base salary at $1,000,000 as CEO-elect, rising to $1,200,000 when he becomes CEO at closing. His annual bonus target is 150% of salary, with the 2026 opportunity prorated to one-third of the full-year amount. The offer letter requires him to remain employed on the bonus payment date to receive a payout.

Subject to approval by GPC’s Compensation and Human Capital Committee, he is eligible for a 2026 long-term equity grant equal to two-thirds of a $6,000,000 full-year target. The offer letter anticipates an annual long-term incentive target of $7,200,000 beginning in May 2027 after his appointment as CEO, subject to compensation committee approval. It also provides for coordinating grants if the separation has not occurred before that grant cycle.

Outstanding performance-based and time-based restricted stock units at separation will convert into awards of equivalent value in the Automotive business.

Separately, the letter provides two replacement awards of restricted stock units, each valued at $4,000,000, for compensation he is giving up elsewhere. The grants are scheduled for his start date and its first anniversary, with each generally vesting on its third anniversary, subject to continued service. Specified departures—including termination without cause or resignation for good reason—accelerate vesting. If a qualifying departure occurs before the second grant, the letter provides a $4,000,000 cash payment in its place.

The filing also gives Carruthers an additional “Good Reason” severance trigger if the separation is not consummated. The separation itself will not trigger his severance or change-in-control agreements.

Nappier’s annual salary increases to $800,000 and Howe’s to $750,000. Each has a 2026 bonus target of 100% of salary, with salary and bonus changes prorated from the appointment date. Their 2027 long-term equity targets are $2.5 million and $2.3 million, respectively.

December presentations precede the separation target

GPC’s Investor Day is scheduled in New York City for December 8, 2026, followed by Motion’s on December 9. The management teams are due to outline their businesses, growth strategies and investment priorities. Webcast and registration details are to follow. Those presentations should help investors assess how the separate investment plans fit each business’s earnings profile and financial ambitions.

Motion’s board is still taking shape: GPC said it is in active discussions with director candidates whose appointments would become effective upon separation. Completion also remains subject to customary conditions, including final GPC board approval and effectiveness of a Form 10 registration statement with the SEC. The February announcement expressly states that shareholder approval is not required.

GPC expects the transaction to qualify as tax-free to its shareholders for U.S. federal tax purposes. That is an expected treatment, with failure to qualify among the risks identified by the company. As of September 9, the first-quarter 2027 completion date remains a target; the remaining approvals, registration process and financial terms will determine how the proposed companies reach independence.

Correction and expansion: This article corrects Carruthers’ CEO-elect effective date to September 8 and Nappier’s expanded-role effective date to September 6, rather than September 9. It also corrects the earlier statement that tax treatment was outside the disclosures and adds business and transaction context from the February separation announcement.