NEW YORK (June 4, 2014) — Tire Consultants Group L.L.C. (TCG) has added four industry professionals to its business consulting services team.
The new hires are David Conley, Dennis Krupa, Jack Kim and Tom Adams, all individuals with 30 or more years of tire industry experience.
TCG, according to its website, was formed in 2012 by three veteran tire industry executives “with the purpose of lending over 100 years of expertise in sales, marketing, operations, supply chain logistics, strategic planning, research and analysis in marketing, production, pricing, financial analysis and competitive trends in the North American market.” The company's president is Skip Viola, who at one time was vice president of sales operations for the Laramie Tire.
The company said David Conley has been named to oversee the commercial medium truck, agriculture, off-the-road and industrial tire segments of TCG. He has more than 43 years of experience in the tire industry, including working with Hankook Tire America Corp., General Tire and Rubber Co. and Kumho Tire Co. Inc.
TCG said Mr. Conley's background includes various facets of the industry, including passenger, light truck, medium radial truck, agricultural, off-the-road and industrial tires. He also created and managed a tire distribution program for a national footprint wheel distributor.
Dennis Krupa was hired to oversee product conception, planning, development and manufacturing. As a member of the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA), Mr. Krupa is a seasoned industrial design professional, TCG said, with product-centric conceptual design and product development experience in the tire industry.
He has held senior industrial designer positions at Michelin North America's BFGoodrich brand and Bridgestone Americas and was a senior global industrial designer for Hankook Tire. He has been awarded 15 U.S. patents in tire design.
TCG named Jack Kim to specialize in U.S. market introduction and to promote growth of imported brands. He has held what the company called “C-level positions” in the tire industry in 17 of his 36 years, all with Hankook Tire. TCG said Mr. Kim was part of Hankook's global planning team that brought Hankook Tire to the U.S. in 1982. During his U.S. tenure with Hankook he held roles ranging from general manager to executive vice president and COO.
Tom Adams has been appointed to oversee forecasting and project management for TCG. In his 30-plus years in the tire industry, his responsibilities have ranged from tire factory industrial engineer to senior sales and marketing executive.
TCG said Mr. Adams has had direct experience with Cooper Tire and its numerous brands and affiliations. He also worked as sales operations director at Treadways Corp. when it was the sole marketer of the Sumitomo brand and four highly valued proprietary brands. He later went on to assume a senior management post at GITI Tire (USA) Ltd.