Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV), a trusted leader in preventive automotive maintenance delivering quick and convenient service, announced that Sam Mitchell is retiring as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective September 30, 2023. Mitchell will be succeeded by Lori Flees, current President of Retail Services, as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. Flees will also join the Company’s Board.
Rich Freeland, Chairman of the Valvoline Board of Directors, said, “On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Sam for his leadership of Valvoline for the last 21 years. During this time, Sam has led the Company through a period of exceptional growth and performance, which included a very successful IPO in 2016, and most recently, the restructuring and separation of Valvoline’s Retail Services and Global Products businesses. Today Valvoline is the leader in preventive automotive maintenance, and it is from this position of strength that the Board has accepted Sam’s retirement decision.”
“Leading this Company has been the highlight of my career. I will always be grateful for the experience of working with the talented and dedicated people at Valvoline, and I wish them all future success,” said Mitchell. “I have had the privilege of working side by side with Lori for the past year. Throughout her career and in our time working together, she has proven to be a strategic thinker with a natural ability to unite teams and drive results. The Board and I have great confidence that she is the right leader for Valvoline as the Company focuses on its future as a high-growth, high-margin, pure-play retail services business.”
Flees has served as President of Valvoline Retail Services for the past year. In this role, she has led the Company’s operations, driving top and bottom-line growth to new record levels. She will continue in her role as President, in addition to serving as the Company’s CEO.
“Lori is a talented executive with a proven track record of delivering results,” continued Freeland. “Over the past year, Lori has become a highly respected member of the management team. Her substantial retail and leadership experience uniquely qualify her to lead Valvoline as it continues to deliver best-in-class retail automotive services. She has quickly gained intimate knowledge of the business and has galvanized the team around Valvoline’s strategic direction. Lori’s experience in strategy development, incubating innovative retail capabilities, and her deep consumer focus make her the ideal choice to oversee Valvoline’s next phase of growth as a pure-play retailer.”
“It is an honor and a privilege to be named the next CEO of Valvoline,” said Flees. “Together with our talented team and strong franchise partners, we will continue to deliver a quick, easy, and trusted customer experience, while investing strategically to drive best-in-class value creation for our shareholders. I want to thank the Board for their trust in me. I also would like to express my appreciation to Sam Mitchell for his mentorship and successful leadership of Valvoline through a critical time of change and growth.”
