Episode 62: O’Reilly Auto Parts’ CEO Brad Beckham on Company Culture and Staying Grounded

In this episode of DriveTime, Brad Beckham, CEO of O’Reilly Auto Parts, discusses how he got into the business at 17 years old, sweeping floors and putting up stock in an O’Reilly Auto Parts store in Oklahoma. It was 1996 and, at that time, O’Reilly had less than 200 stores. Over time working in that store, he became a parts specialist and still remembers the 16 feet of paper catalog racks on the front counter. He held every position in the store for the next couple of years, from counterperson to night manager to assistant store manager. It was at this first store that he fell in love with the business.

Preserving a Culture That Started in 1957 
Beckham delves into the O’Reilly culture, which he says is “the most critical factor in the company’s historic and future success.” The team began formally documenting the company culture in 1998, even though the culture started in 1957, the year O'Reilly was founded. “It was important to clearly define and preserve the simple, foundational principles that got us here,” explains Beckham. “If we ever lose this family culture, as we become a public company and we acquire other companies, if we start to dilute the culture that has really built our business, we’re not going to be the same company.”

Promoting from Within and Valuing the Front Line 
The O’Reilly culture prioritizes teamwork, enthusiasm, hard work, excellent customer service, modesty and “promote from within” opportunities. What a lot of people don’t realize, Beckham says, is that all 650 district managers came from inside O’Reilly. “Every one of those district managers came from running a successful O’Reilly store,” he explains. All 75 regional managers, as well, also came from inside the O’Reilly organization. 

Beckham also points to the 93,000 O’Reilly Auto Parts team members, the far majority of whom – 70,000 – are in the stores on the firing line in front of its customers. “They have the most important job in our company,” says Beckham. 

To hear Beckham’s full aftermarket story, be sure to watch the video above. 

 DriveTime Episode Overview:

-Beckham’s aftermarket career and how he landed at O’Reilly Auto Parts (1:16). 
-The value of a dedicated team at the company’s more than 6,300 store locations and 31 distribution centers (23:30). 
-The O’Reilly Auto Parts company culture (27:54). 
-The value of supplier partnerships, especially in today’s competitive market environment (31:52).
-Outlook for O’Reilly and the aftermarket this year (36:02).
-How the famous O’Reilly jingle, Oh, Oh, Oh, O’Reilly….Auto Parts, came to be and other ways O’Reilly is keeping the brand fresh, engaging and top of mind. (41:53).
-Lightning Round (44:30).