News

News

Uni-Select Inc. announces the appointment of Neil Croxson as President and COO of The Parts Alliance U.K.

Boucherville (Québec), March 19, 2019 – Uni-Select Inc. (TSX:UNS) (“Uni-Select”) today announced that Neil Croxson, currently Chief Financial Officer of The Parts Alliance, has been appointed to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer. Neil succeeds Peter Sephton who will be retiring after ensuring an orderly transition over a three-month period.

Neil Croxson joined The Parts Alliance as CFO in 2015 and has been playing a pivotal role in the expansion of our network through selected acquisitions and the opening of 15 company-owned stores. He has worked in close collaboration with Peter Sephton to deliver the group’s financial strategy and increase our market coverage in the U.K. and Ireland.

“I wish to thank Peter for building The Parts Alliance into a formidable force and market leader in the U.K. autoparts distribution industry and help us grow the business further after Uni-Select acquired it in 2017. We are glad that Peter will continue to work with us as a special advisor and represent our interests in associated trade bodies, such as Nexus International,” said André Courville, Interim President and CEO of Uni-Select. “Neil Croxson, our new President and COO of The Parts Alliance, has already demonstrated great leadership capabilities and we are delighted to see him progress into such a strategic role within the organization.”

“I would like to thank all my colleagues in The Parts Alliance, Uni-Select, suppliers and other industry professionals who have helped our journey to build a market leader, and I wish Neil and the team the best of luck in what will be a great onward journey,” said Peter Sephton.

“I am honoured to be taking on this new role,” said Neil Croxson, President and COO of The Parts Alliance. “We had an excellent performance during our first full year under the Uni-Select umbrella, and under Peter’s leadership, we implemented strong foundations to enable us to capture future market opportunities. I look forward to building on this momentum.”

As CFO of The Parts Alliance, Neil Croxson developed and oversaw the delivery of The Parts Alliance’s financial strategy, leading the finance team to deliver back office services and providing business support. Prior to joining The Parts Alliance, Neil was the CFO for Rexel Northern Europe, a group distributing electrical materials. He also worked as a financial controller at CFAO, a French group distributing vehicles, parts and operating workshops throughout Africa.

An Interim CFO at The Parts Alliance will be named for the transition period and until the conclusion of the executive search for the replacement of Mr. Croxson as CFO of The Parts Alliance.

ABOUT UNI-SELECT

Uni-Select is a leader in the distribution of automotive refinish and industrial paint and related products in North America, as well as a leader in the automotive aftermarket parts business in Canada and in the UK. Uni-Select is headquartered in Boucherville, Québec, Canada, and its shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol UNS.
 
In Canada, Uni-Select supports over 16,000 automotive repair and collision repair shops through a growing national network of more than 1,100 independent customers and over 70 company-owned stores, many of which operate under the Uni-Select BUMPER TO BUMPER®, AUTO PARTS PLUS® AND FINISHMASTER® store banner programs. It also supports over 3,900 shops through its automotive repair/installer shop banners, as well as through its automotive refinish banners.
 
In the United States, Uni-Select, through its wholly-owned subsidiary FinishMaster, Inc., operates a national network of over 200 automotive refinish company-owned stores under the FINISHMASTER banner which services a network of over 30,000 customers annually, of which it is the primary supplier to over 6,800 collision repair centre customers.
 
In the UK and Ireland, Uni-Select, through its Parts Alliance group of subsidiaries, is a leading distributor of automotive parts supporting over 23,000 customer accounts with a network of over 180 company-owned stores.

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CONTACT INFORMATION
Pierre Boucher, CPA, CMA
Jennifer McCaughey, CFA
MaisonBrison Communications
Tel.: (514) 731-0000
pierre@maisonbrison.com
jennifer@maisonbrison.com
investorrelations@uniselect.com