The former Veritiv chief joined LKQ’s board and ended the interim office of the CEO more than five weeks before his planned start.
Salvatore A. “Sal” Abbate became president and CEO of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ: LKQ) and joined its board of directors Nov. 9, moving up the Dec. 15 start date the company announced Oct. 23.
His arrival concludes the interim office of the CEO that John Mendel, chairman of the board, and Sue Gove, chair of the board’s audit committee, had led since Justin Jude left as CEO Oct. 23.
The early start puts a permanent leader at the collision repair industry’s largest supplier of recycled and aftermarket replacement parts more than a month sooner, while a possible sale of the company is on hold. LKQ said Oct. 29 that its board had suspended its review of strategic alternatives, including the process to sell the Specialty segment, to give Abbate room to assess the business.
“LKQ has the scale and reach to be the first call for its customers,” Abbate said. “My job is to make sure we execute at the level that scale should deliver, and I’m looking forward to working with our teams to get there.”
Abbate takes over after a third quarter in which operating problems in Europe drove revenue down 5.1% to $3.32 billion and LKQ posted a net loss from continuing operations of $24 million, including $111 million of impairment charges. LKQ withdrew its full-year 2026 guidance Oct. 23, the same day Andy Hamilton departed as president and managing director of LKQ Europe and the board engaged Alvarez & Marsal to advise on European operations. The company did not issue a new outlook with its third-quarter results.
“Sal is a proven operator, and the Board has full confidence in him,” Mendel said. “Having him in place earlier gives him more time with our teams and customers heading into 2027.”
In North America, the segment that supplies collision repair facilities, alternative parts utilization reached a record of nearly 41% in the third quarter. Parts and services organic revenue in the segment fell 2.4%, against LKQ’s estimate of a 1% to 3% decline in repairable claims.
Abbate has more than three decades of experience in distribution and industrial businesses, including as CEO of Veritiv Corporation, which was sold to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for $2.6 billion in 2023.
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