In a quest to improve Monro Inc.’s financial performance, the company may spend at least $4 million with the consulting firm that has separately supplied Monro’s newly appointed president and CEO.
On the same day Monro’s board appointed Peter Fitzsimmons to replace Mike Broderick as president and CEO, the company entered into an “engagement letter” with AlixPartners to “assess the company’s operations to develop a plan to improve the company’s financial performance.”
That agreement begins with a $800,000 fee for the assessment, and could escalate to $4 million or more if Monro opts to utilize additional services from AlixPartners following the initial assessment.
Monro disclosed the dollar amounts in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
That same filing notes that Fitzsimmons will be paid a monthly fee of $250,000 “in addition to reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, an administrative fee and the standard hourly rates of additional professionals who provide services” under Monro’s agreement with AlixPartners.
Fitzsimmons has served as a partner and managing director of AlixPartners most recently since May 2020. He returned to the company after serving as an investment partner and managing director of a private equity firm, Tower Three Partners.
If the AlixPartners name sounds familiar, it’s because American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) has utilized the same firm as an operational advisor since its initial bankruptcy filing in 2018. Another AlixPartners managing director, Michael Feder, joined ATD in August 2024 to serve as interim CEO, a role he filled throughout the company’s second bankruptcy filing in 2024. ATD has since essentially completed its sale and with that announced its new leadership team, which includes Ira Silver and Sean Franciscus who previously led Max Finkelstein Inc. before it was acquired by U.S. AutoForce in 2022.
In yet another twist, The Rochester Business Journal says the same day Monro announced Fitzsimmons as its new CEO, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the company alleging that it didn't take adequate steps to protect the data of employees and consumers from cyber criminals. (Monro's headquarters are in Rochester, N.Y.)
