EDMONTON, Alberta -

Steven Landry will be the new chief executive officer of AutoCanada starting April 1, the company announced last week. Tom Orysiuk is remaining AutoCanada’s president, while Pat Priestner will become non-executive chair of the board of directors on May 6.

Priestner has a target retirement of May 2017 at the company’s annual general meeting.

“I very much look forward to joining AutoCanada, a company that I have much admired, and I look forward to putting my experience to work building upon the great success of Pat and his team with a continued focus on long term shareholder value,” Landry said. “I am very excited to lead AutoCanada into its second decade.”

Landry’s most recent post was as chief development officer at ATCO Ltd & Canadian Utilities Limited in Calgary.

That followed his time at managing director and chief operating officer for ATCO Australia. Before that post, Landry was with Chrysler Group for 27 years. He held several positions there, including CEO of and president of DaimlerChrysler Canada.

AutoCanada also announced that COO Steve Rose is retiring on Oct. 1.

“AutoCanada is a tremendous company with a strong future. A key to the continued success of any organization is the succession of its senior leadership. Steven Landry, a proven and successful leader, with broad Canadian dealership knowledge, automotive manufacturer relationship and U.S. automotive retail experience, perfectly complements the existing executive team,” Priestner said.

“Steven brings considerable executive skill to the existing management team and provides for the transition of my role while ensuring that Company continues with its focus on driving long term shareholder value. Tom Orysiuk shall continue in his role of providing exceptional operational leadership combined with a deep understanding of the automotive retail industry and AutoCanada culture. This is a team and a plan that I wholeheartedly support,” he said.