Richard Petty Motorsports CEO Tom Reddin resigns
CONCORD, N.C. – Richard Petty Motorsports Chief Executive Officer Tom Reddin said Friday that he will leave his position in about a month but remain with the team as a consultant.
Reddin, who had joined the team in February 2008, oversaw the operations in the first full year that the team was owned primarily by the Gillett family. He also oversaw the merger with Petty Enterprises in January.
The 48-year-old Reddin said he wanted to spend more time with his three children, ages 6, 9 and 12. He said he had gone to 10 of the first 11 races this season, while he had hoped to attend only a dozen or so a year when he took the position.
“The realities of the job is [that] I really believe you need to be there every weekend,” Reddin said. “From a family standpoint, it was a decision my wife and I made a couple of months ago. … I’m very grateful for all that the Gilletts have done to support me over the past year and a half. I felt the company has done a lot of good.”
Last year, Kasey Kahne won two points races as well as the Sprint All-Star Race while driving for what was then known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports. None of the team’s four drivers has won this year, with Kahne 16th in points, Reed Sorenson 23rd, AJ Allmendinger 25th and Elliott Sadler 26th.
“The most important thing is that we got back in the winner’s circle – we didn’t have any wins in 2007 and we got three wins in 2008,” Reddin said. “[And] I feel really good about the business from a sponsorship standpoint. … Overall, I feel the place is pretty solid.”
The RPM management team, including President Rick Russell and Chief Marketing Officer De Cordell, will absorb some of Reddin’s duties. Foster Gillett, son of team majority owner George Gillett, will now be with the team on a daily basis. Reddin said the timing of his departure was to coincide with the end of the National Hockey League season as the Gilletts also own the Montreal Canadiens.
Reddin’s business background was a combination of consumer packaged goods, e-commerce and technology experience gained at Kraft Foods, CBS, Coca-Cola and LendingTree, where he ultimately served as chief executive officer.
Reddin’s resignation was announced to employees Friday morning.
“As far as our side, Foster is coming back from Montreal and he’s going to be more hands on at the company," Kahne said Friday. "I think that it will be fine. I think Foster does a good job with things and he’s a good guy to talk to and work with. Hopefully everything turns out good.”
Reddin hopes it does as well.
“It’s emotional, but it’s the right thing to do from a family perspective,” Reddin said.
