TBC names Olsen president, CEO

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.—TBC Corp. has appointed Erik Olsen president chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, succeeding Lawrence Day as CEO. Mr. Olsen previously was the company's chief operating officer. The company said Mr. Day will remain with TBC and continue as chairman of its board of directors. “It's exciting to have the opportunity to lead an organization filled with extremely talented and dedicated professionals,” Mr. Olsen said in a TBC press statement. “Under Larry's leadership TBC has experienced tremendous growth and progress. Our company is uniquely positioned in the tire and automotive service industry and is poised for our next phase of significant evolution. “One of our key focus areas will be the acceleration of initiatives to leverage the strength of each subsidiary to better serve our customers, franchisees and associates.” Mr. Day added that since Mr. Olsen joined TBC in December 2004, he “has been a very effective leader and has consistently produced superior results. He is dedicated to providing growth opportunities for the TBC associates and believes in mutually beneficial strategic relationships with TBC suppliers. “I am confident that TBC will prosper under Erik's leadership.” Mr. Olsen joined Palm Beach Gardens-based TBC as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. From 2005 to 2008 he had the added responsibility of serving as president of Carroll Tire Co., a TBC acquisition. In 2008 Mr. Olsen was named president and CEO of TBC Wholesale Group, and was elected to the corporation's board of directors. This year he was appointed chief operating officer. Before joining TBC, Mr. Olsen held various senior management positions with Michelin North America Inc. Prior to joining the tire maker in 1996, he held marketing and sales positions with Procter & Gamble, Clorox Co. and the Ralston Foods unit of Ralcorp Holdings Inc. According to TBC, Mr. Olsen received an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. TBC's retail division operates 931 stores and also controls more than 65 Big O Tires and 40 Midas locations in various markets. The company also has in its stable the Tire Kingdom, NTB and Merchant's Tire chains. Through its Carroll Tire wholesale distribution centers, the company also markets directly to independent tire dealers across the U.S., with Carroll handling a wide variety of proprietary and national brands from 38 distribution centers. TBC markets and sells nine proprietary tire brands throughout North America, according to its website, including Multi-Mile, Cordovan, Sigma, Vanderbilt, Sumitomo, Eldorado, Laramie, Telstar and Jetzon which are distributed through the company's TBC Private Brands and Treadways units to independent retailers and wholesalers throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. In 2005 TBC was purchased by Sumitomo Corp. of America (SCOA)—the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corp., one of Japan's major integrated trading and investment business enterprises. TBC still functions as an independent company of SCOA, however, the company ended its 22-year stint as a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ.