Allaire, Gajewski join GITI Tire USA (Update)

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (Jan. 8, 2014) — GITI Tire USA Ltd. has hired industry veterans Armand Allaire and Daniel Gajewski as vice president of marketing and director, supply chain, respectively.

Mr. Allaire is a 36-year tire industry veteran who most recently was national vice president of sales at Kumho Tire USA L.L.C. for all replacement tires in the U.S. Prior to Kumho, he was vice president of sales at Toyo Tire USA Inc.

GITI Tire USA is the North American distribution arm of China's GITI Tire Pte. Ltd.

Tom McNamara, executive vice president, sales and marketing, for GITI Tire USA, said the company "is delighted to have Armand's wealth of industry experience, and we look forward to his contribution as we aggressively grow our Giti Tire family of brands."

In his new position at GITI Tire Mr. Allaire, a native of Middletown, Conn., will be responsible for marketing GITI's passenger, light truck and medium truck brands in both the U.S. and Canada, including GT Radial, Primewell, Runway and Dextero.

Prior to joining GITI, Mr. Gajewski held a global supply chain position at Goodyear before leaving for an assignment with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. He managed factory direct programs and automotive OEMs at Goodyear, GITI said, as well as Lean and Six Sigma projects.

Mr. Gajewski, a Hammond, Ind., native, has an additional 28 years of experience as a U.S. Army officer in global logistics and in various supply chain/procurement roles in the metals and retail industries.

GITI said Mr. Gajewski will be responsible for logistics, forecasting and inventory replenishment for the company's North American operations.

"Daniel will play an important role in helping GITI Tire fulfill our goal of consistently delivering the right tire at the right time in the right place," said John Waite, vice president of DC Operations for GITI Tire USA. "His outstanding experience and expertise will be tremendous assets in helping us achieve supply chain excellence in North America through improved process, personnel and programs."