Pep Boys announces new chairman, board member

PHILADELPHIA The Pep Boys has appointed James A. Mitarotonda the new non-executive chairman of the board of directors. Mitarotonda succeeds William Leonard, who resigned for personal reasons.

Interim ceo Michael R. Odell also was appointed to the board. Odell has been serving as the interim ceo since April 23, 2008.

"I am pleased to accept the responsibility of chairing the Board as Pep Boys strives to be the automotive solutions provider of choice for the value-oriented customer," said Mitarotonda. "On behalf of all of our Directors, I also want to welcome Mike Odell to the boardroom. He and his leadership team have the board’s full support. Finally, the board would like to thank Bill Leonard for his stewardship of Pep Boys. During his tenure, he has served Pep Boys faithfully in whatever capacity was needed.”

Mitarotonda has served on Pep Boys' board since August 2006 and is the chairman of the board and ceo of Barington Capital Group, L.P., an investment firm that he co-founded in 1991. He is also a member of the board of directors of A. Schulman, Inc. and Griffon Corp. Collectively with the other members of a Schedule 13D reporting group, Barington is Pep Boys' largest shareholder.

Odell joined Pep Boys in September 2007 as evp and coo after spending 13 years at Sears Holdings. His last position at Sears was evp and gm of Sears Retail & Specialty Stores.