ALLEN PARK, Mich. (Sept. 24, 2015) — Family-owned Belle Tire Distributors Inc. has made several changes to its executive leadership team, hiring industry outsider Jack Lawless as CEO and promoting Don Barnes III to president.
Mr. Lawless, 54 and the the former CEO of Michigan modular homebuilder Champion Enterprises Holdings L.L.C., succeeds Steven Craig, who is leaving the company after just three years at the helm.
Mr. Barnes, 32, has worked at his family's company for 10 years, most recently as president of retail operations, overseeing the day-to-day operations of more than 90 Belle Tire locations in Michigan, northern Ohio and Indiana.
Messrs. Lawless and Barnes will work together with the other members of the leadership team to continue Belle Tire's recent growth curve, which most recently took the dealership into Indiana for the first time, according to Belle Tire's owners, Don Barnes Jr. and Bob Barnes.
A resident of Northville, Mich., Mr. Lawless previously was president and CEO for Troy, Mich.-based Champion Enterprises, where Belle said he doubled the company's U.S. market share in four years.