Announcement for Release on: August 19th, 2019

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – – Leeds West Groups is proud to announce Derek Wessels as their new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Advisory Board of Directors Member effective August 19th, over all LWG divisions. Mr. Wessels has assumed direct overall responsibility of all three LWG automotive divisions.

Mr. Wessels comes to LWG from nine years at Driver’s Edge Auto Repair, and most recently thirteen years at Bridgestone Americas where he led at any one time up to two hundred and forty Firestone locations Nationally with over two thousand team members. Mr. Wessels has tremendous multi-unit experience across two decades in automotive aftermarket. Mr. Wessels has delivered extraordinary results while creating world class leadership cultures within his team with hands-on training processes, creations of defined careers paths for his team members, all while achieving large growth, and repeatable multi-unit sales records.

We have spent tremendous resources over the last nine months setting up our operating teams’ structure in a way that we believe to be best in class streamlined with the mindset and ability to achieve our growth expectations and culture for our team members growth. During the process we set a lofty goal of identifying a leader that we believed had the skillset of large multi-unit automotive retail experience that is highly driven with a mindset of in-field presence, with a hunger and passion to win and the skillset that could achieve our expected growth numbers all while being able to deliver to their teams personal growth. We believe we have found that in Derek and could not be prouder to have him leading all aftermarket automotive divisions and joining LWG. We look forward to welcoming Derek and his family to Colorado and LWG from Texas.” – CEO Judd Kyle Shader

Mr. Wessels is in the process of relocating his family to Colorado from Texas and has assumed all job responsibilities effective immediately with Mr. Alan Mahrt COO ASE Division, Mr. Tim Moran Vice President of LW Midas Division, and Mr. James Gould Vice President of the Big O Division reporting to him.

“I am very excited to be joining the LWG team and family. It’s an honor to lead this organization from an operations perspective as our core values and vision for the future fully align. Teammate development, outstanding customer service, high paced nationwide growth and long-term thinking are a few key items that stand out. I’m extremely motivated to lead our teammates who have high expectations and a passion to take LWG to the next level. My family and I are excited to get going, and I look forward to building meaningful relationships with all teammates throughout the organization.” – COO Derek Wessels.

“We are excited to welcome Derek to the LWG executive team. LWG has grown to over 100 locations nationwide, and Derek’s arrival highlights our development and maturation under the leadership of our CEO, Judd Kyle Shader. Derek’s track record as a leader and his deep roots in our industry make him a natural fit for our organization given our focus on combining institutionalized operational excellence with entrepreneurial innovation. With CEO Judd, CFO Peter Derschang, CPA, and now COO, Derek Wessels in place, our executive team is well positioned to drive our strategy and upcoming expansions to be announced later this year, and the continued strategic expansion of our locations nationwide. As we scale our business we remain strongly committed to providing excellent service to the communities in which we operate while providing a dynamic work environment with upward mobility for our amazing team of now over 900 members. We are proud of our position with the addition of Derek as both a best-in-class operator and a strong ambassador for our brands.” – Josh Weinreich, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Leeds West Groups (LWG) was founded in 2009 by current CEO and Board of Directors Member Judd Kyle Shader and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO. LWG is a management platform that is capitalized by PE and Family Office funds that acquires, owns, and manages National Automotive Repair Franchise brands across the Continental United States including a National real-estate portfolio and National investment opportunities. LWG Board of Directors is Chaired by Joshua Weinreich. LWG now currently employs over 900 team-members with now over 93 automotive retail locations, operating in 16 states across the Continental United States.

For more information, contact LWG Senior Marketing Manager: Hanna Jerde at Hanna.Jerde@LeedsWest.com or (720) 473 – 6676.

Announcement for Release on: July 25th, 2019

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – Leeds West Groups (LWG) has officially announced their entrance alongside The Monteverde Group into the State of Texas Big O Tires locations. The Monteverde Group and LWG are proud to jointly announce a joint equity partnership agreement in the current eight (8) Big O Tires locations currently located in the State of Texas (San Antonio, TX and the Corpus Christi, TX) market.

LWG is coming in as a pure equity partner along with a strategic infrastructure infusion, as LWG will have no day-to-day operational controls of this market. The Monteverde Group led by Christopher Monteverde will manage all pieces of the day-to-day operations as they currently do, and LWG will assume back office infrastructure responsibility and aggressive growth funding.

“We have made the strategic move to start investing in world class operators and we firmly believe Chris and his team are that. We believe we can enhance LWG growth avenues now across a whole new level of opportunity while leveraging our best in class automotive specific office, purchasing, and software infrastructure. All alongside LWG current aggressive growth strategies in our current stores and current marketplaces. We have worked very hard setting up the LWG Senior Management team to be able to operate at a very high level with clear cut structural responsibilities in all arenas giving LWG now the ability to go after any and every multi unit large scale deal we see fit in the aftermarket automotive repair sector nationwide. We are very proud to kick this off with what we see as an exciting and aggressive Q3 and Q4 for LWG growth in our current stores and new markets with a big addition and bang with 8 Big O Tires locations in Texas and our investment into our 16th State.” States Judd Kyle Shader, CEO/Board of Directors LWG

The Monteverde Group along with the Big O Tires brand entered the State of Texas on January 15th of this year.

“The Big O brand is a powerful brand that we believe has huge potential in the State of Texas and beyond. The marriage of LWG now gives me and my team the ability to go after any growth opportunity Nationally that I see fit for my Big O Tires team and allows us to capitalize on their automotive specific office infrastructure, while allowing my team to deliver a high level of operational excellence.” States Chris Monteverde CEO The Monteverde Group.

The Monteverde Group joined the Big O Tires organization in 2004 and has since expanded to 24 locations with 8 in the State of Texas and 16 in Northern California. CEO Chris Monteverde was named 2017 Franchisee of the Year by Big O Tires, as well as 2018 Franchisee of The Year by the International Franchise Association (IFA).

Leeds West Groups (LWG) was founded in 2009 by current CEO and Board of Directors Member Judd Kyle Shader and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO. LWG is a management platform that is capitalized by PE and Family Office funds that acquires, owns, and manages National Automotive Repair Franchise brands across the Continental United States including a National real-estate portfolio and National investment opportunities. LWG Board of Directors is Chaired by Joshua Weinreich. LWG now currently employs over 900 team-members with now over 93 automotive retail locations, operating in 16 states across the Continental United States.

For more information, contact LWG Senior Marketing Manager: Hanna Jerde at Hanna.Jerde@LeedsWest.com or (720) 473 – 6676.

Announcement for Release on: May 23, 2019

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – Leeds West Groups (LWG) has officially announced Mike Kennerson as the LWG Senior Director of LWG Information Technology. Senior Vice President of LWG Operations Solutions Kathy Bray states;

“Mikes dedication and commitment to helping others succeed is what caught our eye when looking for the right person to lead our technology initiatives. He proudly states that whether it’s helping with advice, development, coaching, fixing or leading, he finds true fulfillment knowing that he’s done something to make someone’s day a little better. That attitude along with strong proven technical knowledge and skills combine to make him the perfect leader to help our company be prepared to meet the technology challenges of the future, and to make it easier for our stores to concentrate on their core business.”

Mr. Mike Kennerson, effective May 6, 2019 has been announced as Senior Director of LWG Information Technology, assuming all LWG IT responsibilities and management for the technology team across all business platforms and divisions. Mr. Kennerson will be working alongside Connie Crosby-Sifrit Senior Director of LWG Data Analytics, and Dan Gamel LWG Systems Administrator to provide our retail stores, offices and customers with the best experience, outgoing approach, and can-do attitudes with industry leading technology and resources. Mr. Kennerson will be tasked with taking LWG’s existing platforms to the next level while improving our store and customer experiences, and preparing for our future needs and expansions.

Mr. Kennerson has over 15 year of progressive experience in Information Technology. Prior to joining LWG, Mr. Kennerson was an IT Manager for James Hardie Building Products in Mission Viejo, California from 2006 – 2017, then from 2017 – 2019, IT Manager for Advanced Circuits in Aurora, Colorado.

Leeds West Groups (LWG) was founded in 2009 by current CEO Judd Kyle Shader and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO. LWG is a management platform that is capitalized by PE and Family Office funds that acquires, owns, and manages National Automotive Repair Franchise brands across the Continental United States including a National real-estate portfolio and National investment opportunities. LWG Board of Directors is Chaired by Joshua Weinreich with LWG currently employing over 850 team-members with over 85 automotive retail locations, operating in 16 states across the Continental United States.

For more information, contact LWG Senior Marketing Manager: Hanna Jerde at Hanna.Jerde@LeedsWest.com or (720) 473 – 6676.

Announcement for Release on: May 23, 2019

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – Leeds West Groups (LWG) has announced five field promotions from within it’s LW Automotive Division. LWG Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors Member Judd Kyle Shader states,

““I am very excited to announce the LW Divisions new field operating structure. This is something that is very well deserved for these five individuals and a decision that was not made or come to lightly. These five individuals have proven track records and their history and desire to build a world class in-field, in-store, hands-on culture with clear training paths for each team member to follow in their footsteps is bar-none. Not only am I excited about this move for these five team members, I’m even more excited that all five positions and structural changes come from within the ranks of the LWG family. We are truly committed to being the fastest growing after-market franchise automotive repair retail company in the country, and doing so from within the LWG family. We are committed to creating a true next level path with the correct structure and guidance that will help us achieve these lofty goals with the full backing and support of our Board of Directors. I could not ask for a better team in our three current division leaders: Alan Mahrt ASE Division COO, newly promoted Timothy Moran Vice President LW Midas Division, and newly promoted James Gould Vice President LWG Big O Division to collectively achieve our lofty goals”.

Mr. Timothy Moran Vice President of the LW Midas Division East Coast and the LWG Big O Tires Division has been promoted to the head of the entire LW National Midas Division effective April 1st. Mr. Moran joined LWG March 1st, 2017 from a long history with AutoPart International, a sub entity of Advance Auto Parts based in Boston, MA. Mr. Moran will now oversee the whole LW Midas Divisions portfolio of East Coast, Mid-West, and Colorado Operations reporting directly to the CEO Mr. Shader.

Mr. James Gould has been promoted to Vice President of the LWG Big O Tires Division reporting directly to LWG CEO Mr. Shader. Previously Mr. Gould served as the Director of the LWG Big O Tires Division reporting to Mr. Moran. With Mr. Moran’s promotion and sole focus on the LW Midas Division, Mr. Gould has been elevated and directed in charge solely of leading the LWG Big O Division and team. Mr. Gould joined LWG in 2013 after a long career with Midas International in San Diego, CA and Chicago, IL. Mr. Gould will oversee all day to day operations of all LWG Big O Tires locations.

Mr. Matt Lee has been promoted from District Manager of the LW Midas Division CT to Director of LW East Coast Midas, reporting directly to Mr. Moran. Mr. Lee started with Midas International in 2004 at the Midas Norwalk, CT location prior to LWG acquisition of the Midas TBC retail locations in 2013. At that time under LWG, Mr. Lee was elevated to District Manager of the CT locations. Mr. Lee will have direct responsibility for all LW East Coast Division Midas locations, along with direct responsibility of the CT Midas location along with Mr. LaBarre, including direct oversight of the Midas New Jersey locations.

Mr. Ben Oliver has been promoted from District Manager of LW Division IL (Chicago) Midas to Director of LW Mid-West Midas Division, reporting directly to Mr. Moran. Mr. Oliver started with Midas in Denver, CO in 2013 before relocating to Chicago, IL with the promotion to District Manager in 2017. Mr. Oliver will have direct responsibility for all LW Mid-West Division Midas locations, along with Mr. Oliver’s direct responsibility of the Midas Chicago, IL market.

Mr. Brendan LaBarre has been promoted from Store Manager of the LW Midas Division’s largest volume location in Norwalk, CT to added duties of CT District Manager helping Mr. Lee overseeing the CT Midas locations along with his current active duties at the Norwalk, CT locations. Mr. LaBarre joined the LWG family in 2014.

Leeds West Groups (LWG) was founded in 2009 by current CEO Judd Kyle Shader and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO. LWG is a management platform that is capitalized by PE and Family Office funds that acquires, owns, and manages National Automotive Repair Franchise brands across the Continental United States including a National real-estate portfolio and National investment opportunities. LWG Board of Directors is Chaired by Joshua Weinreich with LWG currently employing over 850 team-members with over 85 automotive retail locations, operating in 16 states across the Continental United States.

For more information, contact LWG Senior Marketing Manager: Hanna Jerde at Hanna.Jerde@LeedsWest.com or (720) 473 – 6676.

Announcement for Internal Release on: November 20th, 2018

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – Leeds West Groups (LWG) is pleased to announce the promotion of James Gould to the newly created position of Director of LW Big O Tire Store Operations, reporting directly to Tim Moran, Vice President of LW East Coast and Big O Tires Store Operations. In this new role, James will oversee total operations of ten of the Big O Tire stores in the Colorado market.

James has been in the industry for 15 years, the last 6 which have been working within LWG. As a Store Manager and then a District Manager for the LW Big O Tires group, has continually improved in Top Line Sales and Gross Profit Dollars, in large part due to his unique understanding and implementation of the LWG process.

In his new role, James will continue to oversee the successful growth and profitability of the Big O Tires with the assistance of three newly promoted Senior Store Managers who will report directly to him.

Rod Murphy of Castle Pines

Bryan Peregrine of Broomfield

Dalibor “D” Dzajic of Arvada

In their new roles, these three gentlemen will manage not only their own stores, but will now oversee the profitability of several other Big O stores, focusing on Topline Sales, Gross Profit and Payroll.  They will oversee inventory control, perform Repair Order audits, onboard new employees, offer support with Account Payable discrepancies, environmental and safety compliance and overall performance within their assigned stores.

Rod Murphy will oversee the Centennial and Highlands Ranch in addition to the Castle Pines location.  Bryan Peregrine will supervise Boulder, Lakewood, and 6^th Ave. in Aurora in addition to his home store in Broomfield. And D will oversee Littleton/Bowles and Chatfield in addition to his Arvada location.

Each of these gentlemen have a proven record of success and growth within the LW tire stores and will no doubt help to continue that upward trend.  James and this dynamic team will be a force not only within the LW organization, but also within the entire Big O franchise.

Congratulations to all!

Announcement for Internal Release on: November 12th, 2018

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – Leeds West Groups (LWG) is pleased to announce exciting changes in the Information Technology arena that will provide the LW and ASE divisions with greater daily support and advancement for all IT initiatives as we continue to grow!

As of Monday, November 12th, Chris Tracy the current Director of IT for the ASE division, has been promoted to Vice President of LWG Information Technology overseeing the whole IT department of both divisions. In this new role, Chris will oversee all of the IT initiatives and projects for all of the LWG organizations. Chris will now report directly to Kathy Bray, the Senior Vice President of LWG Operations Solutions.

For the past two plus years, Chris has made great strides with the ASE division, upgrading the infrastructure and standardizing systems and processes to improve that division’s capabilities. His proven broad career experience is key to help guide our fast growing organization into the future. Congratulations Chris!

Jordan McDonald currently the Sr. Director of Leeds West Information Technology will now be the Sr. Director of LWG Information Technology, reporting directly to Chris. Jordan will primarily oversee implementation and support all of the company’s network and hardware infrastructure and design. Jordan’s successful experience and knowledge of LW, positions our organization to meet any technological changes and challenges we will face in the future, head on.

Connie Crosby-Sifrit will assume the newly created role of Sr. Director of LWG Data Analytics and Reporting for the whole LWG organization. Connie will also report to Chris, with the primary concentration on our BOSS initiative and the deployment of our robust in-house reporting solutions. Connie’s broad experience with the ASE division for over the last 40 years offers a unique insight into store and office operations. Her vast experience with the ROWriter POS system, along with accounting and other reporting solutions combined with her operational understanding will be a tremendous asset to developing the informational reporting needed to continue our national expansion and daily tracking matrix’s.

In the coming weeks and months’ you will see big advances in our IT development, support and communication. This increase in support will take time to implement. There is no immediate change in who you currently communicate with for any IT issues. As the IT department continues to build out we will keep everyone updated if any contacts should change for your IT company needs.

Chris and Connie will continue to office out of the Davenport office with Jordan and Kathy continuing to office in Denver. This unique department design will allow us to better serve the needs of stores located in the Eastern, Central and Mountain Time zones, and provide the technological redundancy a successful organization of our size demands.

This is an exciting step toward creating the industry leading in-house aftermarket automotive IT department. Congratulations to all!

Announcement for Release on: October 16th, 2018

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – Leeds West Groups (LWG) is proud to announce the acquisition of its newest aftermarket automotive repair location and retail store in Aurora, CO, and has assumed operations effective on Monday, October 15^th, 2018.

This is LWG’s 100^th automotive location Nationally, and 30^th location in the State of Colorado.

“All store openings are exciting, but obviously this location has a very special meaning, and is a special milestone for the company. I could not be more thrilled to announce LWG’s 100^th automotive location, and I could not be more ecstatic with LWG’s automotive growth pattern over the last 106 months and our growth objectives over the next 100 months.”

– Judd Kyle Shader, Chief Executive Officer/Board Member

“We are thrilled with our current growth trajectory and strategy. Our growth over the last 9 years shows our level of commitment to the industry and our chosen brands.”

– Joshua Weinreich, Chairman of the Board

LWG was founded in 2009 by CEO Judd Shader and headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO. LWG is a management platform that is capitalized by PE and Family Office funds that acquires, owns, and manages National Automotive Repair Franchise brands across the Continental United States including a National real-estate portfolio and other National investment opportunities. LWG employs over 850 team-members with now over 100 automotive retail locations, operating in 16 states across the Continental US.

For more information, contact LWG Senior Marketing Manager: Hanna Jerde at Hanna.Jerde@LeedsWest.com or (720) 473 – 6676.

Announcement for Release on: September 14th, 2018

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – Leeds West Groups (LWG) has announced Peter J. Derschang, CPA, MBA as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Advisory Board of Directors Member of LWG on September 10^th, 2018.

Mr. Derschang has over 30 years of industry senior financial management experience. Prior to joining LWG, Mr. Derschang was the Chief Financial Officer at Full Speed Automotive (Grease Monkey International, Speedee Oil, Havoline Express Lube, and Lube Pros) 2018, Brakes Plus, LLC a Division of Mavis/STS and Tire Engineers from 2011-2017. Prior to shifting into the aftermarket automotive sector, Mr. Derschang was the CFO at The Cable Center in Denver, CO, Vice President of Finance at First Data Corporation, and public accounting at Yale & Seffinger, P.C.

Mr. Derschang is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and is a member of both the AICPA and the Colorado Society of CPA’s. Mr. Derschang is additionally on the School of Accountancy Advisory Board at the University of Denver, and has taught various accounting courses at the Daniels College of Business since 2006 as an Adjunct Professor. Mr. Derschang has been a CFO at various national non-profits organization and is a graduate of the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business with both his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting (’82) and his MBA (’92).

“Peter is a fantastic addition to our Senior Leadership team and an incredible resource to the Board of Directors. His industry knowledge, leadership experience and financial expertise will be tremendous resources for LWG, his team-members, our Board of Directors, and myself over the LWG financial infrastructure into our next chapters. I am honored to welcome Peter and his family to the LWG team.”

 

– Judd K. Shader, LWG Chief Executive Officer & Board of Directors

 

About Leeds West Groups

Leeds West Groups (LWG) was founded in 2009 and headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO. LWG is a management platform that is capitalized by PE and Family Office funds that acquires, owns, and manages National Automotive Repair Franchise brands across the Continental United States including a National real-estate portfolio and National investment opportunities. LWG employs over 850 team-members with over 99 automotive retail locations, operating in 16 states across the Continental United States.

For more information, contact LWG Senior Marketing Manager: Hanna Jerde at Hanna.Jerde@LeedsWest.com or (720) 473 – 6676.

Announcement for Release on: August 27th, 2018

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO –  Leeds West Groups (LWG) has finalized a 50 – 50 Joint Venture Re-development Deal with Neibur Development that is based out of Colorado Springs, CO, with 100% of the project already leased to Nationally recognized design and Architect Firm Gould Evans that is based out of Kansas City, MO. Gould Evans will re-locate their corporate HQ to occupy the entire project.

4200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64111

The project will be a substantial renovation with approximately 25,000 square feet of historic office space on two floors with 68 parking spaces. The location of the project is in the highly desirable area of Historic Westport in Kansas City, MO near St. Luke’s Hospital and Country Club Plaza.

About Leeds West Groups

Leeds West Groups is an investment and management platform that is capitalized by PE and Family Office funds that acquires, owns, and manages National Automotive Repair Franchise brands across the Continental United States including a National Real Estate portfolio.

About Neibur Development

Neibur Development founded by Joe Neibur is a Colorado Springs, CO based commercial development firm with a national presence. Since being founded in 1986, Niebur Development has completed a portfolio of successful projects across all real-estate asset classes including medical office, multi-family, industrial, retail, single-family and golf assets.

About Gould Evans

Gould Evans is a nationally recognized Architecture firm based in Kansas City, MO with a diverse National project portfolio. Their portfolio includes work that encompasses education buildings, civic spaces, cultural institutions, athletics facilities, workplaces, wineries, residences, environmental branding and urban planning.

For more information, contact LWG Senior Marketing Manager: Hanna Jerde at Hanna.Jerde@LeedsWest.com or (720) 473 – 6676.