New Directors to Stand for Election at Valvoline’s 2026 Annual Meeting
Valvoline Inc. the quick, easy, trusted leader in preventive automotive maintenance, has announced a planned refresh of its Board of Directors as the company continues to sharpen its focus as a pure-play retail services business. The company has nominated Janet S. Wong and Chris Carr to stand for election to Valvoline Inc.’s Board of Directors at its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, while long-serving directors Mary J. Twinem and Vada O. Manager have shared their intention to retire from the Board as of the same meeting.
This transition underscores Valvoline Inc.’s ongoing commitment to strong governance, strategic oversight, and a Board composition that aligns with the company’s growth trajectory and evolving business model. In addition to joining the Board, Janet Wong is expected to succeed Mary Twinem as Chair of the Audit Committee upon her election in January, ensuring continuity in financial oversight while bringing fresh perspective to the company’s audit and risk framework.
Board Chairman Richard Freeland highlighted how the new nominees are expected to contribute to Valvoline Inc.’s next phase of growth. “We look forward to welcoming both Janet and Chris to Valvoline Inc.’s Board of Directors,” he said. “Each brings decades of senior executive and board experience. Janet’s financial expertise and her background in advising high-growth companies will be invaluable as we continue to deliver sustainable network growth. Chris’s deep retail leadership experience will help guide us as we continue to elevate our industry-leading operational excellence.”
At the same time, Freeland recognized the significant impact of the outgoing directors. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would also like to express our sincere gratitude and thanks to Mary and Vada who have been exemplary board members during their nine years of service to Valvoline Inc. Since joining the Board at the Company’s IPO in 2016, Mary’s and Vada’s contributions to the Board have helped guide the Company’s strategic transformation to a pure-play retail services company. The Board is grateful for Mary’s leadership as Chair of the Audit Committee and Vada’s leadership as Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee. We will miss Mary and Vada, and wish them the very best in retirement,” he added.
Strengthening the Board with Financial, Technology, and Risk Expertise
Janet S. Wong brings a deep portfolio of financial, accounting, and governance expertise to Valvoline Inc. She is an experienced business executive, board director, and SEC financial expert, having spent the majority of her career as a senior partner at KPMG, one of the world’s leading professional services firms. Over the course of her career, Wong has advised public and private companies across industries, giving her a broad view of financial reporting, risk, and regulatory expectations.
Her public accounting and business experience spans multiple critical domains that are increasingly central to the success of modern retail and service-based organizations. These include:
- Financial accounting and reporting – providing oversight and guidance to ensure accuracy, transparency, and compliance with accounting standards.
- Internal controls and risk management – helping organizations build robust systems to manage financial, operational, and compliance risks.
- Cybersecurity and AI oversight – bringing insight into how technology, digital risk, and emerging tools such as artificial intelligence intersect with corporate governance and business strategy.
- M&A strategic planning – supporting companies through mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions to drive growth and value creation.
Currently, Wong serves on the board of directors of Lucid Group, Inc., a technology company focused on sustainable mobility. Her experience with Lucid provides exposure to advanced vehicle technology, electrification trends, and the future of mobility—areas that align with broader shifts in the automotive and transportation ecosystem.
She also serves on the board of TWFG, Inc., a national independent distribution platform for personal and commercial insurance, giving her additional experience in risk transfer, insurance products, and distribution strategies. In the education and nonprofit sector, Wong is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Louisiana Tech University Foundation, where she contributes to stewardship of institutional resources and long-term planning.
Her appointment to Valvoline Inc.’s Board and her future leadership of the Audit Committee are expected to support the company’s focus on disciplined capital allocation, robust controls, and the prudent management of emerging risks, including those associated with digital transformation, data, and technology-enabled services.
Adding Deep Retail, Customer, and Operations Leadership
Chris Carr complements Wong’s financial and risk profile with extensive retail, customer experience, and operational leadership. Carr has built his career in consumer-facing businesses where brand strength, service quality, and operational efficiency are key drivers of performance—areas that are central to Valvoline Inc.’s strategy as a retail services company.
Carr currently serves as Chairman of the Board of REI, the well-known outdoor specialty retailer. In that role, he provides governance and strategic leadership to a brand recognized for its strong customer loyalty, membership model, and mission-driven culture. His experience at REI positions him well to support Valvoline Inc. in enhancing customer engagement, building loyalty programs, and aligning operations with brand promise.
In addition to REI, Carr is a board member of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Equity Residential. These roles offer broad exposure to global hospitality, real estate, and service-driven business models, and contribute to his understanding of customer-centric strategies, large-scale operations, and capital-intensive networks—parallels that are relevant to Valvoline Inc.’s growing store footprint and service network.
Operationally, Carr has held several executive roles with well-known consumer brands. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Sweetgreen, a fast-casual restaurant chain focused on healthy, digitally enabled dining and scalable operations. At Sweetgreen, Carr was involved in driving operational discipline, supply chain efficiency, digital integration, and customer experience—capabilities that can translate well to Valvoline’s quick, easy, trusted automotive service model.
Prior to Sweetgreen, Carr held various leadership positions at Starbucks, where he served as Executive Vice President, Chief Procurement Officer and Executive Vice President, Americas Licensed Stores. In these roles, he was involved in managing complex supply chains, vendor relationships, and large networks of licensed retail locations. His experience navigating global supply dynamics, franchise/licensing relationships, and store operations is directly relevant as Valvoline Inc. continues to scale its retail footprint and optimize operational performance across its network.
Carr also contributes to higher education and community development as a Trustee of Howard University and the University of San Diego, further demonstrating his commitment to leadership development, governance, and stakeholder engagement.
Supporting Valvoline Inc.’s Strategic Priorities
Valvoline Inc.’s transformation into a pure-play retail services company has been shaped significantly by the leadership of its Board, including outgoing directors Mary Twinem and Vada Manager. Since the company’s IPO in 2016, the Board has overseen a strategic pivot that emphasizes branded, high-quality preventive maintenance services, a growing store network, and a customer-first service model.
In this context, the addition of Wong and Carr is designed to align Board capabilities with the next stage of Valvoline Inc.’s journey. President and CEO Lori Flees emphasized how the new nominees fit into the company’s strategy.
“Janet Wong and Chris Carr are excellent additions to our Board of Directors, and I look forward to partnering with them,” Flees said. “Their outstanding track records of driving growth and transformation will be an asset as Valvoline Inc. pursues our strategic priorities to drive the full potential of the core business, deliver sustainable network growth, and innovate to meet the changing needs of the customer and car parc.”
These strategic priorities include:
- Driving the full potential of the core business – optimizing same-store performance, enhancing service offerings, improving technician productivity, and leveraging data and digital tools to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
- Delivering sustainable network growth – expanding Valvoline Inc.’s footprint of company-operated and franchised locations, entering new markets, and strengthening presence in existing markets while maintaining consistent service quality and brand standards.
- Innovating to meet changing customer and car parc needs – adapting services, packages, and offerings to reflect trends such as longer vehicle life cycles, evolving maintenance requirements, growing adoption of advanced vehicle technologies, and shifting consumer expectations for convenience and speed.
Wong’s background in financial oversight, strategic transactions, risk management, cybersecurity, and AI will help the Board support these initiatives with strong governance around investments, technology, and enterprise risk. Carr’s experience leading large, customer-centric retail operations will help guide store strategy, network design, digital integration, and service innovation.
Honoring a Decade of Service from Outgoing Directors
While Valvoline Inc. looks ahead with its new nominees, the company is also marking the planned retirements of Mary J. Twinem and Vada O. Manager, who have each served on the Board for nine years. Both joined at a pivotal time, coinciding with Valvoline Inc.’s IPO in 2016 and the early stages of its strategic transformation.
Twinem, who has chaired the Audit Committee, has played a central role in shaping the company’s financial reporting, internal controls, and audit oversight during a period that included significant strategic shifts and portfolio changes. Her leadership has helped ensure transparency, accountability, and financial discipline as Valvoline Inc. repositioned its business and invested in its retail platform.
Manager, as Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee, has helped guide Board composition, governance practices, and succession planning. His leadership supported the development of a Board that reflects the skills, experiences, and perspectives needed to oversee Valvoline Inc.’s strategic direction in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
The decision of Twinem and Manager to retire at the 2026 Annual Meeting is part of an orderly approach to Board refreshment. By nominating Wong and Carr well ahead of the transition, Valvoline Inc. is planning for continuity in committee leadership and ensuring that new directors are in place to support long-term strategic priorities.
Chairman Richard Freeland’s comments captured the Board’s appreciation: the company will “miss Mary and Vada,” he noted, emphasizing their impact on Valvoline Inc.’s evolution and extending best wishes as they move into retirement.
A Board Poised for the Future
With the nomination of Janet Wong and Chris Carr, Valvoline Inc. is positioning its Board to support the company’s continued growth as a focused, customer-centric retail services leader in the automotive maintenance space. The combination of Wong’s financial and risk expertise and Carr’s deep retail and operational experience is expected to complement the existing Board’s capabilities and equip Valvoline Inc. to navigate both current opportunities and emerging challenges.
As the company moves toward its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, the planned Board transition reflects Valvoline Inc.’s long-standing emphasis on strong governance, strategic alignment, and leadership that can help the company deliver on its mission to provide quick, easy, trusted preventive automotive maintenance to drivers across its expanding network.
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