Petsmart Names Moran Chairman, Lenhardt President

Petsmart named CEO Bob Moran board chairman.

Petsmart Inc. of Phoenix appointed president and CEO Robert Moran, 61,  as chairman of the board, replacing Phil Francis, effective Jan. 30, 2012.

Moran, who served as president and CEO since 2009 and president and COO from 2001 to 2009, will retain the CEO title.

Francis will remain a director, as he has been since the late 1980s. He was appointed president and CEO in 1998 and became chairman the following year.

Petsmart also promoted executive vice president David Lenhardt, 42, to president and COO, effective Jan. 30. Lenhardt had joined Petsmart as senior vice president of services, strategic planning and business development in 2000.

Also, Petsmart appointed CFO Chip Molloy to the additional position of executive vice president, in which he will assume responsibility for Petsmart’s real estate and legal functions.

Joseph O’Leary will continue to serve as executive vice president of merchandising, marketing, supply chain and strategic planning, reporting to Lenhardt.

“During the last several years, we have focused on and invested in strategic succession planning, and as a result, we’ve assembled what I believe is one of the best leadership teams in retail,” Moran said. “David has the experience, vision and ability to help lead Petsmart in our continuous pursuit of unmatched customer experience, Chip has helped steer us toward record earnings even in a difficult economic environment and Joe has proven to be a strategic leader with the right balance of creativity and foresight to help us maintain our momentum.”