Harmon to lead Bridgestone's GCR Tires unit

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bridgestone Americas Inc. has named Damien Harmon, chief operating officer for Bridgestone Retail Operations (BRSO) since October 2016, to become president of its GCR Tires & Service commercial tire business, effective Nov. 1.

Mr. Harmon will succeed John Vasuta, who in turn is being promoted to senior vice president, global sales, for Bridgestone's Firestone Building Products (FSBP) unit.

According to the company, Mr. Harmon will be tasked with the driving strategic growth of GCR commercial tire and service locations in North America.

"Damien has demonstrated an ability to drive consistency and standardization in store operations to help elevate enterprise profitability," said Scott Damon, president, Commercial Group, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO).

"GCR represents a critical touchpoint with customers across all product groups in our commercial tire business, and we look forward to Damien's leadership in executing our vision of being one of the most trusted tire solutions providers in North America," Mr. Damon said.

Mr. Harmon joined Bridgestone in June 2014 as vice president of operations for BSRO and was promoted to COO a year ago. In that role, he leads service capability, customer retention, information technology, teammate training and business development for the company's 2,200 consumer tire and automotive service locations.

He also has been BSRO's interim president for the past year, filling that role after the departure of Stu Crum.

Mr. Harmon spent nine years with Best Buy Co. Inc. before joining Bridgestone, developing business strategy, merchandising and marketing programing, vendor relationships and solutions for U.S. business.

Bridgestone did not identify a successor at BSRO for Mr. Harmon. The business unit recently hired Joe Venezia, an executive with 20-plus years of consumer retail experience, to be president, filling the vacancy.

He returns to FSBP after three years as president of GCR, which is Bridgestone's company-owned commercial tires and service business unit, with more than 200 service locations and 18 retread plants in the U.S. and Canada.

GCR's service offerings include tire maintenance and repairs, on-site service, 24-hour emergency response and availability of Bandag retreads.

Mr. Vasuta, meanwhile, will be responsible for developing a global sales strategy for FSBP to accelerate growth in key world markets, advancing the company's organizational design, Bridgestone said.