Pep Boys CEO resigns as earnings disappoint

In a shake-up of its leadership, Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack announced Friday that chief executive officer Michael Odell had resigned, effective immediately.

The familiar Philadelphia auto-parts and service company said director John Sweetwood, 66, would be interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent CEO from among internal and external candidates.

Odell, 50, joined Pep Boys in September 2007 as chief operating officer. Before that, he had been executive vice president and general manager of Sears Retail & Specialty Stores.

Odell's resignation came less than three weeks after the auto stores reported disappointing second-quarter earnings.

At that time, Odell said in a statement that the company was developing a plan to reduce expenses by $25 million, and would close stores "that do not justify their expense burden."

Pep Boys general counsel Brian Zuckerman said Odell accomplished a lot during his tenure. "But, unfortunately, recently our operating results have been disappointing. It was decided that a change at this time would be in the company's and Mike's best interests."

Pep Boys has been in business 93 years. It has 800 locations.

Odell's tenure coincided with the 2008 decline in new-car sales in the aftermath of the financial crisis and federal rescues of General Motors and Chrysler. New car sales were hurt, and so were maintenance cycles for oil changes, tires, brakes, and batteries, Odell told analysts on a conference call in June 2013.

Sweetwood is president of Woods Investment L.L.C., a private real estate investment firm. He is the former president of the Americas Six Continents Hotels (now InterContinental Hotels Group), which operates under InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and other brands.

Plans include continued growth of service and tire center stores, "but at the same time, because of our results, we are taking a hard look at our expense structure and the inventory levels," Zuckerman said. "That is unchanged as a result of the leadership change."

Company shares closed up six cents to $9.43 on Friday.