William C. Rhodes (businessman)

Last updated
William C. Rhodes III
OccupationBusinessman
Title Executive Chairman of AutoZone, Inc.

William C. Rhodes III is the Executive Chairman and former President and Chief Executive Officer of AutoZone, Inc.

Contents

Rhodes is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin with an accounting degree. He also earned a master of business administration degree from the University of Memphis.

Education

Rhodes graduated from Craigmont High School, Memphis, TN and the University of Tennessee at Martin where he was on the Golf team. [1]

Career

AutoZone

William C. Rhodes III began his career at AutoZone in 1994. Before this, he was a manager at Ernst & Young LLP. [2] He is President and Chief Executive Officer of AutoZone, Inc., [3] a Fortune 300 company. [4] He was named to those positions on March 13, 2005, [5] following more than 12 years with the company where he served in a variety of executive-level roles. [6] In 2007, he was named chairman of the company. [2] In January 2024, Rhodes stepped down as President and CEO of AutoZone and assumed the role of Executive Chairman. [7]

According to annual proxy filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Rhodes's 2005 compensation from AutoZone totaled over US$8.5M. [8] While CEO of AutoZone in 2009, Rhodes earned a total compensation of $3,052,765, which included a base salary of $752,385, a cash bonus of $1,017,977, stocks granted of $21,270, options granted of $1,138,717, and other compensation totaling $122,416. [9] Business Insider listed him as one of the 25 most underpaid CEOs in 2010. [10] He was among the best-performing CEOs in 2014 and among the highest-paid CEOs in 2016. [11] [12] In 2023, Rhodes's total compensation at AutoZone was $18.8 million, or 705 times what the median employee at AutoZone earned that same year. [13]

Other work

Rhodes is a former board member of Dollar General. He is also a director at the Retail Industry Leaders Association. [14] Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam nominated Rhodes among others to the University of Tennessee's Board of Trustees, who was eventually approved. [15] [16]

Acting as a representative for other CEOs during a meeting between these CEOs, Rhodes, and President Donald Trump, Rhodes expressed concern over whether specific policy shifts would affect "our industry, our employees and American working families." [17] He also expressed concern that tariffs enacted by Trump did not "shock" customers. [18] [19]

Rhodes is politically active and contributes to political races, including the reelection campaign for Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts in 2018 and George Flinn in West Tennessee's Eighth District in 2016. [20] [21]

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References

  1. ↑ Dalton, Logan (September 1, 2010). "2010 College Football Predictions: 10 Things You Need to Know About UT M". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "AutoZone: Debt Is a Dragging Brake on This Muscle Car". Guru Focus. September 16, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  3. ↑ DeCarlo, Scott, "CEO Compensation: William C Rhodes III", Forbes, April 20, 2006 (URL retrieved October 22, 2006).
  4. ↑ "Fortune 500: Autozone", CNN.com (URL retrieved October 22, 2006).
  5. ↑ "Company News; Office Depot Names Auto Parts Executive as Chief", New York Times, March 15, 2005 (URL retrieved October 22, 2006).
  6. ↑ "Officers & Directors Detail: AutoZone Inc AZO (NYSE)", Reuters (URL retrieved October 22, 2006).
  7. ↑ "AutoZone Announces Completion of Leadership Transition Plan". AutoZone . 2024-01-02. Archived from the original on 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  8. ↑ "Special report: Executive compensation", USA Today, April 10, 2006 (URL retrieved October 22, 2006).
  9. ↑ 2009 CEO Compensation for William C. Rhodes III, Equilar
  10. ↑ Yarow, Jay (October 14, 2010). "The 25 Most Underpaid CEOs". Business Insider. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  11. ↑ Huang, Jon; Russell, Karl (May 26, 2017). "The Highest-Paid C.E.O.s in 2016". The New York Times. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  12. ↑ "The Best-Performing CEOs in the World". Harvard Business Review. November 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  13. ↑ Anderson, Sarah (2024-08-29). "Executive Excess 2024: The "Low Wage 100" corporations are enriching CEOs at the expense of workers and long-term investment" (PDF). Institute for Policy Studies . Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  14. ↑ Elrod, Andrew (September 12, 2014). "Dollar store syndrome: low prices, lower pay". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ Sisk, Chas (April 12, 2018). "State Senate Rejects Four Of Governor Haslam's Nominees To New UT Board". Nashville Public Radio. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  16. ↑ "New University of Tennessee board to discuss chairman election". Knox News. July 26, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  17. ↑ Popken, Ben (February 15, 2017). "Trump Meets With Retail CEOs to Discuss Taxes, Jobs, And Economy". NBC News. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  18. ↑ Langford, James (September 18, 2018). "Average Americans won't notice tariffs? Retailers are already raising prices". Washington Examiner. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  19. ↑ Franck, Thomas (October 24, 2018). "Tariffs are dominating earnings calls with more than a third of companies discussing the fallout". CNBC. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  20. ↑ Schoenberg, Shira (August 30, 2018). "How much money have Massachusetts' 2018 statewide primary candidates raised, and who is donating?". Mass Live. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  21. ↑ Connolly, Daniel (July 10, 2016). "Flinn appears to outspend rivals on TV". Jackson Sun. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
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