DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 2, 2025--
Continental Battery Systems (CBS), a leading national distributor of batteries and battery accessories, today announced the promotion of John Rauco to the role of Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Rauco most recently served as Senior Vice President of Sales, where he played a pivotal role in accelerating growth, deepening customer relationships and advancing the company’s integrated national go-to-market strategy.
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In his expanded role, Rauco will oversee all commercial functions, including sales, marketing, pricing and strategic customer engagement. He will report directly to CEO Chris Alberta and will continue to shape the company’s commercial direction with a focus on delivering customer value, optimizing performance and driving long-term, sustainable growth.
“John has been a transformational leader at CBS,” said Chris Alberta, CEO of Continental Battery Systems. “His ability to align our commercial strategy with customer needs has been a cornerstone of our recent success. As CCO, John will play a critical role in scaling our platform and unlocking new opportunities in a rapidly evolving marketplace.”
Since joining the company in 2020, Rauco has been a key architect of CBS’ national expansion. He led the build-out of a high-performing sales organization, guided the seamless integration of over 25 acquisitions and championed initiatives that enhanced the company’s commercial agility and market responsiveness.
“I’m honored to take on this role at such a pivotal time,” said Rauco. “Our mission is clear: to deliver meaningful value through performance, reliability and innovation. As both our industry and the broader economy face ongoing disruption, I’m focused on helping our team stay agile, solve problems quickly and build stronger, lasting partnerships across our markets.”
This leadership transition reflects CBS’ ongoing commitment to a “customer-first” focus, strategic growth and industry leadership to face rapidly-growing demand.
About Continental Battery Systems
Founded in 1932, Continental Battery Systems is a leading distributor of batteries and battery accessories, serving a wide range of industries including automotive, commercial, marine, RV, solar and industrial. With a rapidly expanding national footprint and a deep focus on customer service, CBS is committed to leading the charge through innovative battery solutions and a customer-first culture.
Learn more at www.gocbs.com.
John Rauco, Chief Commercial Officer, has been a driving force behind Continental Battery System's national expansion and customer-first growth strategy.
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The funeral was underway Saturday in western Uganda for a traditional monarch who ascended the throne of the Tooro Kingdom as an infant in 1995 and died last month at 34, triggering a succession dispute that has rocked the royal family and gripped the entire nation.
The funeral of Tooro's King Oyo Nyimba in a cathedral in the remote city of Fort Portal, near the Congo border, concludes a nine-day mourning period that was blemished by an increasingly acrimonious dispute over who should succeed him. He will be buried next to his ancestors later on Saturday.
King Oyo, as he was best known to his subjects, was unmarried when he died late in August after suffering from cancer. Elders with the kingdom’s ruling clan, known as the Babiito, said he never declared an heir to them, disputing the account of others in the kingdom who said he left behind a son born out of wedlock. The son has not been publicly identified, leading to sensational claims on social media of at least two possible heirs alleged to be Oyo’s children.
On Wednesday, a committee of Tooro elders announced that they had chosen a prince working as a journalist to succeed Oyo, earning praise from traditionalists who want an adult on the throne and rebuke from the king’s closest relatives.
Oyo’s sister, Ruth Komuntale, said the announcement sought to “bring division and turmoil.” Queen Mother Best Kemigisa said in a statement that the succession battle undermined their ability to mourn the king’s death. “I also appeal to those fighting over the throne: please, there will be time for all of that,” she said in a statement. “Let us grieve and bury my son King Oyo.”
Traditional monarchs are beloved but don’t wield any formal power in the East African country.
Oyo was crowned in 1995, at the age of 3, after his father’s death. He was a curious child in colorful robes and an object of adoration for his hundreds of thousands of followers.
At his coronation, he went through a series of tribal rituals and was led into the royal cemetery to perform a coming-of-age ceremony: successfully tossing nine coffee beans into his father’s tomb.
Amid the ongoing succession dispute, it was not clear who would perform this rite. The matter of Oyo’s successor could go to the courts, after his family said he left behind a will that had been ignored by Tooro elders.
Oyo once held the unofficial title of the world’s youngest king, a mesmerizing figure even for world leaders introduced to him at national events, including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. Oyo was guided by regents appointed by the kingdom until he became an adult at 18.
“This is one of those deaths, the Bob Marley kind, that one never heals from,” Timothy Kalyegira, a prominent analyst who is from Tooro, said in a eulogy posted on social platform X. “Not Oyo; not that likeable young man; not at 34. That’s what makes it so painful.”
The late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi befriended the Tooro royal family as if they were part of his extended family. He made multiple trips to Uganda and supported Oyo and his mother for years before his death in October 2011.
Uganda’s traditional kingdoms were banned after independence from British colonial rule by a republican president who said he wanted to unify the country, but they were restored in 1993. Although they have no political authority and are legally not allowed to engage in partisan politics, monarchs wield authority as guardians of tribal culture.
The casket of Tooro's King Oyo Nyimba is loaded into a hearse in the remote city of Fort Portal, near the Congo border in Uganda, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)
A Ugandan security officer carries a portrait of Tooro's King Oyo Nyimba during his funeral procession in Fort Portal, Uganda, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)
The casket of Tooro's King Oyo Nyimba is placed at Karuziika Palace, the official royal residence, in Fort Portal, Uganda, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)
Mourners gather for the funeral of Tooro's King Oyo Nyimba in the remote city of Fort Portal, near the Congo border in Uganda, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)
A Ugandan security officer carries a portrait of Tooro's King Oyo Nyimba during his funeral procession in Fort Portal, Uganda, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)
Mourners gather for the funeral of Tooro's King Oyo Nyimba in the remote city of Fort Portal, near the Congo border in Uganda, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)
Priests attend the funeral of Tooro's King Oyo Nyimba in Fort Portal, Uganda, near the Congo border, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)
A portrait of Tooro's King Oyo Nyimba is displayed inside St. John's Cathedral in Fort Portal, Uganda, near the Congo border, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)
