Executives on the move: 2024 hirings, promotions

Here's who has been hired or promoted at top tire businesses so far in 2024.

The Alliance names Washbish president
The Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance Inc. (Alliance) has named JC Washbish as president, succeeding John R. Washbish, who will continue in his role as CEO.

Washbish most recently served as vice president of sales and marketing.

He joined the Alliance in 2016 as sales, marketing and brand manager, before being promoted to director of marketing.

AME International hires Arias as product manager
AME International has named Jose Arias as its new product manager, responsible for managing all existing product data, researching and developing new products.

Arias replaces Kelsey Jarman, who is transitioning into a sales position. He resides in Dallas.

Arias, who has 19 years of experience in the industry, also will collaborate with AME's marketing and sales teams to address industry needs and bring solutions to the market.

ATD hires Feder as interim CEO, replacing Schuette

American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) has hired Michael Feder as interim CEO, replacing Stuart Schuette, who resigned after serving as CEO and president since 2016.

Feder previously served more than 23 years as manager director at AlixPartners, a global consulting firm.

Schuette resigned to pursue opportunities outside the industry, ATD said.

ASA Automotive promotes Hopkins to general manager

ASA Automotive Systems Inc. promoted Ashley Hopkins to general manager for Enterprise. In that role, Hopkins will lead all ASA Enterprise product operations, which includes TireMaster Enterprise, TirePro, TireMax and GTX.

Hopkins previously was Enterprise products director at ASA.

Ascenso adds Duesing as OEM sales manager

Ascenso Tires North America has hired former Continental North America executive Douglas Duesing as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sales manager in North America.

Ascenso, a subsidiary of India's Mahansaria Tyres (Pvt.) Ltd., said Duesing has more than 10 years of experience working in agriculture, construction and mining OEMs. According to the company, he will be focused on OE accounts in North America.

Ascenso, known as Tyres International prior to being acquired in 2021 by Mahansaria, said it has "received positive feedback from key global OEMs embracing our fast product development and our superior total cost of acquisition."

ATNA names Bezbatchenko CEO, Clark named president
Ascenso Tires North America (ATNA) has promoted Marty Bezbatchenko to CEO and hired former Group Michelin and Carlstar Group executive Thomas Clark to succeed him as president.

Clark brings 30 years of experience to the position. He previously worked for companies like Group Michelin and Carlstar Group in several countries, including the U.S., Mexico and India.

Bezbatchenko became president after Mumbai, India-based startup MTPL acquired a majority stake in his distribution company, Tyres International, in 2021.

Ascenso adds Dube to North America OEM sales team

Ascenso Tires North America has added rubber industry veteran Sylvain Dube to its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sales team.

He has spent more than 35 years working throughout the automotive sector and rubber industry, including custom rubber-mixing for the tire industry. Previously, Dube worked at Camso Group and then Michelin North America Inc. (when it acquired Camso in 2018).

Bauer Built promotes 6 to new sales posts

Commercial tire specialist Bauer Built Tire & Service has promoted six individuals to the newly creation position of regional director, part of the reorganization of its tire sales division:

• Brandon Cadwallader, who will be responsible for the Blaine and Eagan/St. Paul operations in Minnesota; Fargo, N.D.; Sioux City, Iowa; and Sioux Falls, S.D.;
• Matt Seffinga will be responsible for Rochester, Mankato, Blue Earth and LeRoy operations in Minnesota and Mason City, Iowa;
• Justyn Alex will be responsible for Norfolk, Fremont, Lexington, Grand Island and Lincoln, Neb., locations;
• Sam Westphall will be responsible for the Durand, Eau Claire, Durand Wholesale/Stevens Point and Manitowoc, Wis., locations and Preston, Minn;
• Bobby Ruhaak will be responsible for the Romeoville, Ill.; Indianapolis and Clarksville, Ind.; and Waukesha, Wis., locations; and
• Bill Maahs will be responsible for the Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque, Davenport and West Burlington, Iowa locations.

CMA/Double Coin names Etheridge regional sales manager

CMA L.L.C./Double Coin L.L.C., has named Patrick Etheridge as regional sales manager for the Mid-South and Rocky Mountain region.

Etheridge, a Marine Corps veteran, began working at Bridgestone Americas Inc. in 2004. He became district manager for GCR Tires & Service before moving to RDH Retreading in 2013.

In 2015, Etheridge joined Giti Tire (USA) as a key client leader and Prinx Chengshan Tire North America as vice president of sales, involved with the company's sales strategies and operational framework.

Conti names Schroeder head of region for N.A.

Continental Tire the Americas has named Rob Schroeder to head of region for U.S. and Canada to oversee material handling, port, earthmoving and agriculture tires.

Schroeder, formerly senior manager of operations, marketing and analytics, took over his new role April 1, succeeding Andrew Davis, who left the company.

Schroeder will report directly to Constantin Batsch, who heads global sales and operations for specialty tires.

Schroeder joined Continental in 2013 and has been a part of its truck tire and commercial specialty tires business for years.

Conti appoints Olaf Schick as chief financial officer

Continental AG appointed Olaf Schick as chief financial officer, effective July 1.

In addition to Group Finance and Controlling, Schick will remain responsible for Group Law and Intellectual Property, Group Compliance, Group Internal Audit, Group Quality Management and Group Risks and Controls, all of which are currently part of the Integrity and Law function, the company said.

Schick has been Continental's Executive Board member for Integrity and Law since May 2023.

Dill names Lannoo technical training manager
Dill Air Controls Products L.L.C. has hired Sean Lannoo as technical training manager, a new position with the company.

Lannoo previously worked at Continental Tire the Americas as technical training advisor, working with tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) since their introduction to the U.S. market.

Lee Chaplin named president of Fastco

Fastco Canada, a manufacturer and wholesale distributor of wheels, tires and accessories, has promoted Lee Chaplin to president of its Group Touchette Inc. subsidiary.

Lee previously was Fastco's vice president of supply chain. His father, Glenn Chaplin, founded Fastco Canada.

Groupe Touchette, one of Canada's largest tire distributors, acquired Fastco Canada last July.

FTS tasks Mehta with building Otani brand

Importer/distributor Foreign Tire Sales (FTS) has hired industry veteran Minoo Mehta as CEO and tasked him principally with helping build the Otani brand in North America.

Mehta, whose three-decade-plus tire industry career encompasses both retail and wholesale, will work alongside FTS Founder and President Richard Kuskin and his hand-picked team toward their goal of building the Otani brand.

Mehta — not to be confused with the managing director of Balkrishna Industries (BKT) Ltd. USA Inc. and BKT Tires Inc. of the same name founded Tires Direct Wholesale (TDW) in 2015 and later added Tire Super Centers (TSC) in Jacksonville, Fla. TDW was wound down a few years ago amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and Mehta later sold TSC.

FullSpeed names Harry Jenkins as president of retail operations

FullSpeed Automotive, the operator of Grease Monkey, SpeeDee Oil Change & Auto Service and Kwik Kar, has hired Harry T. Jenkins IV as president of retail operations.

Jenkins most recently served as the COO at ModWash. He previously held management positions at Genuine Parts Co., Bridgestone Americas Inc. and TBC Corp., where he served as vice president of retail field operations.

Goodyear names Stewart as its new CEO

Goodyear named Mark Stewart as its next CEO.

Stewart succeeded Richard J. Kramer, who in November 2023 announced his planned retirement from the tiremaker after 24 years, including 14 as chairman, president and CEO.

Stewart came to Goodyear from Stellantis, where he was chief operating officer of North America and a member of the Group Executive Council. At Stellantis, he led a business unit with more than 88,000 employees and more than $90 billion in revenue.

Waldron named Goodyear Americas president
Goodyear has promoted Ryan Waldron to president of the tire maker's Americas business unit.

He succeeds Steven R. McClellan, who retired on April 1. Waldron will report directly to Goodyear CEO and President Mark Stewart.

Goodyear promotes Shank to investor post
Goodyear has promoted Greg Shank to senior director of investor relations.

He replaces Christian Gadzinksi, who is now supporting Goodyear's commercial tire business in North America. Shank reports to Christina Zamarro, executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Prior to this appointment, Shank was director of financial planning and analysis for Goodyear's Americas business unit. He joined Goodyear in 2008 and has held several roles in finance in the Americas.

Goodyear tabs Nicole Gray to lead human resources

Goodyear has promoted Nicole Gray to senior vice president and chief human resources officer, succeeding Gary VanderLind who is retiring.

Gray joined Goodyear in 2016, moving from leading the company's global labor and employment team to senior human resources leadership roles.

VanderLind, who began his career with Goodyear in 1985 in the firm's retail store business, retired July 1.

Goodyear adds Chamarthi, Roland to executive team

Goodyear has hired a pair of former Stellatis N.V. executives to fill key senior vice president positions — Mamatha Chamarthi as senior vice president and chief digital officer and Will Rolan as senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

Both will report to CEO Mark Stewart.

Chamarthi previously served as chief software business growth officer for Stellantis.

Roland previously was senior vice president of media, consumers, analytics and digital for Stellantis North America.

GRI hires ex-Conti exec Guildford as global director
Specialty-tire manufacturer Global Rubber Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. (GRI) hired tire industry veteran Barry Guildford as global commercial director, effective March 1.

Guildford will lead global sales and marketing at GRI. He brings 22-plus years of tire industry experience to his new job, including 20 plus at Continental.

GRI names Doornbos director of North America

GRI hired tire industry veteran Ydo Doornbos to be its director of North America. He joined the company on April 29.

Doornbos has spent 29 years in the industry, most recently acting as vice president, business development at American Pacific Industries (API), a private-brand tire distributor.

Doornbos replaces Mike Conner in the position. Conner now will focus on growth initiatives in materials-handling, original-equipment and strategic business development for GRI.

GRI hires Junkins, Cole as U.S. sales managers

GRI has expanded its U.S. operations, hiring Cara Junkins and Jeff Cole as national sales managers for the U.S.

Junkins has worked in the tire industry for three decades, holding leadership positions with Continental Tire the Americas; Titan/Goodyear; U.S. AutoForce and Yokohama Trelleborg Wheel System (TWS). She most recently worked as U.S. regional manager for Trelleborg A.G., forestry.

Cole, with 28 years of industry experience, previously worked at Yokohama TWS, overseeing the U.S.and Canada aftermarket sales teams for material handling and construction tires. He has held a range of roles in tire manufacturing, wholesale distribution, retail service centers and the military sector.

Groupe Touchette hires Lalonde as VP, supply chain

Groupe Touchette Inc. has named industry veteran Francis Lalonde as vice president, supply chain.

According to the distributor, Lalonde has held several position during his career, with experience in operations management, distribution, procurement and transportation

Hankook boosts U.S. sales force

Hankook Tire America Corp., the U.S. arm of Korea-based Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd., boosted its sales force with four appointments as it seeks growth in the U.S market.

• Gabriel Leventis as director of new channel development;
• Steve Johnson as director of sales, Northeast region;
• John Lesnak as director of sales, Midwest region;
• Ken Everhart as director of corporate accounts, North American commercial sales.

Cho, Jensen join Hankook N.A. sales

Hankook Tire America Corp. has added Kyuwang "Ken" Cho and K.C. Jensen to its leadership team to drive sales in North America.

Cho, the vice president of U.S. passenger and light truck (P/LT) sales at Hankook America, comes from Hankook headquarters in Korea, where he led sales initiatives that drove international market expansion as vice president of global sales, according to the company.

Jensen has been named Hankook America vice president of P/LT sales, focusing on the West region and other strategic initiatives.

Before joining Hankook in 2018, Jensen was part of the Michelin North America sales team.

Huayi Tire promotes Vetter to VP sales

Huayi Tire Canada Inc. (HTC), Canada's marketer and distributor for Double Coin and associate brands of truck/bus radials and off-road tires, has promoted Robert Vetter to vice president of sales, Eastern Canada.

Vetter will oversee sales in this new role, enhancing support and offering personalized solutions.

Vetter's resume covers more than four decades of tire industry experience, including multiple roles at the Canadian operations of Bridgestone Americas and Goodyear. Prior to this promotion, spent nearly seven years as senior regional sales manager for Eastern Canada at HTC.

Icahn moves Willetts into Pep Boys CEO role
Icahn Enterprises L.P. (IEP) has appointed current CEO David Willetts to become CEO of its Pep Boys business as part of strategy to drive the "significant value creation potential" of the auto repair and maintenance subsidiary.

Willetts, IEP CEO since November 2021, becomes the third CEO of Pep Boys in the past 18 months, replacing Scott Collette a year after the former Menards Inc. executive was hired to fill that position.

Collette is transitioning to the role of chief operating officer, tasked with driving Pep Boys' greenfield initiatives, acquisitions and evaluation of new service offerings, IEP said.

K&M Tire names Jon Zurcher executive vice president
Jon Zurcher, who's been chief operating officer for Monroe, Ind.-based Best-One Tire the last seven years, has been named executive vice president at K&M Tire.

Zurcher will play a critical role with K&M, the company said, strengthening and building on the company's strategic plans.
 

Kumho hires ex-Cooper exec Egerton as marketing VP
Kumho Tire U.S.A. Inc. has hired former Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. executive Jessica Egerton as vice president of marketing.

Egerton will develop and execute integrated marketing and brand awareness programming for the tire brand, supporting retail and engaging consumers.

She previously led the brand strategy for the Cooper, Mastercraft and Roadmaster brands at Cooper Tire.

Kumho hires Jenkins as corporate account manager

Kumho Tire USA Inc. has hired Chris Jenkins — programs and marketing manager for Maxxis International for the past five years — to be a corporate account manager.

KYB promotes Tufo to regional sales manager

KYB Americas Corp. has promoted Nick Tufo to regional sales manager – East region.

Tufo has been with KYB for nearly eight years as a territory sales manager. His promotion follows the promotion a year ago of Ryan Dickerman, who moved to national sales manager.

Maxam names Crook and Dowling to key sales positions

Maxam Tire North America Inc. has promoted Lester Crook and Brian Dowling to sales leadership positions.

Crook was promoted to zone sales director — North. He began his career in the tire industry in 1997 and joined Maxam in 2020 as a regional sales manager.

Dowling was promoted to zone sales director — South. He has been with Maxam since 2016, initially as regional sales manager for the Southeast before being promoted to national account sales manager in 2018. He was promoted in 2020 to solid OTR and national account sales director.

Maxam promotes Edds to national account sales director

Maxam Tire North America has promoted Jeremy Edds to small off-the-road (SOTR) and national account sales director.

Edds joined Maxam in March 2023 as aggregates national accounts sales manager.

Edds previously worked 17 years at Goodyear, where he operated both off-the-road and commercial service trucks before moving into local sales and service, eventually becoming district sales manager.

Cabe to succeed Garcin as Michelin North America CEO

Michelin Group has named Matthew Cabe as the next president and CEO of Michelin North America, effective October 1. 

Cabe will succeed Alexis Garcin, whose next position within Michelin will be announced at a later date, the tire maker said. Garcin has been president since 2019.

Since 2021, Cabe has served as senior vice president of the Michelin Group's automotive regional brands business line based in Budapest, Hungary. From 2017-21 he served in a number of marketing leadership positions for the North American passenger car and light truck business.

In his 19-year career with Michelin, Cabe held various leadership roles in engineering, manufacturing, marketing and other commercial functions in North America and globally.

Nokian names former TWS exec Paolo Pompei next CEO

Nokian Tyres P.L.C. is hiring former Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) President Paolo Pompei to be its president and CEO, replacing Jukka Moisio, who announced in March his intention to retire from the position he has held since 2020.

Moisio will continue in the position until Pompei joins the company on Jan. 1, 2025, at the latest.

Pompei most recently worked at Yokohama TWS, serving as president of that business from 2023-24. Prior to that, he was president of TWS since 2017.

Nokian hires Erkkilä as general counsel

 Nokian Tyres P.L.C. has hired Elisa Erkkilä to be its general counsel and a member of the firm's group management team, effective June 1.

Erkkilä, who formerly worked as senior legal counsel and group compliance officer for Fondia P.L.C., also will serve as acting secretary to the board of directors.

Prinx Chengshan adds four to North American team

Prinx Chengshan Tire North America (PCTNA) has added four to its sales and management team:

• John Lynch, director of corporate accounts in the Western region;
• Adam Perkins, regional sales manager;
• Thuong Ho, customer service representative; and
• Jacqueline Tsai, accounting manager.

PTCN President Samuel Felberbaum said the group's "diverse skill sets, and proven track records of success will be instrumental in driving our continued growth and success in the tire industry."

Ralson names Roe VP of sales for western U.S.

Ralson Tire North America Inc.(RTNA) has hired industry veteran Mark Roe to be its vice president of sales for the western U.S., a newly created position.

According to RTNA, a subsidiary of Indore, India-based Ralson Tyres Ltd., Roe has more than 30 years of experience in the commercial tire industry, specializing in domestic and regional sales, as well as worth with tractor and trailer original equipment manufacturers.

John Teddy named Straightaway Tire CEO

O2 Investment Partners L.L.C. has hired John Teddy to be CEO of Straightaway Tire & Auto.

Teddy most recently was president of Take 5 Car Wash, a division of Driven Brands Holdings Inc. During his time at Driven Brands, he also served as chief commercial officer and held multiple senior leadership positions within the Take 5 Oil Change division.

SRNA promotes several executives

The executive promotions announced so far in 2024 include:

• Rick Zimmerman, with SRNA since 2013, to director of original equipment for both four- and two-wheel businesses.
• Cliff Stewart, who has eight years at SRNA, to director of commercial truck tires and later to sales director for passenger car and light truck tires 
• Tsuyoshi "TJ" Johnson, with nearly eight years at SRNA, to director of product planning, Falken passenger car and light truck tires.
• Bakari Howard, who has 15 years at SRNA, to manager of motorsports.
• Bob Klimm, a company employee since 2009, to director of corporate accounts.
• Carlos Arguello to national sales manager (East) for commercial truck tires, from strategic account manager.
• Sam Williams to national sales manager (West) for commercial truck tires, from senior strategic account manager, and then later to sales director of commercial truck tires.
• Deborah Augsburger to strategic account manager for passenger car and light truck tires.
• Jonathon Bradford, a 19-year SRNA veteran, becomes brand field specialist manager, Falken brand.
• Chad Greer, a 16-year veteran, to Dunlop Motorcycle Tires' director of motorcycle product, marketing and motorsports.
• Michelle Cotter to Dunlop Motorcycle Tires' customer care manager.
• Greg Prieto to director of information technology (IT).
• Joyce Ho, with 15 years at SRNA, to corporate events and merchandising manager.
• Corey Fiacco, who has been with SRNA since 2019, to tax manager.
• Ambar Hernandez to accounting manager.
• Edith Avina to customer service manager.

Jeff Botsford also has been hired as regional sales manager for Dunlop Motorcycle Tires.

TBC names Don Byrd as president, CEO
TBC Corp. has promoted Don Byrd to president and CEO, replacing Sam Kato, who is returning to Sumitomo Corp. of Americas after 11 months as TBC's top executive.

Byrd, TBC's chief strategy and marketing officer, will assume the position May 1. Kato was hired in May 2023 to position the company for growth and evolution.

TBC names Stearman to supply-chain role
TBC Corp. has hired Chris Stearman to fill the newly created role of chief supply chain officer, where he'll lead TBC's end-to-end global supply chain operations including strategy, purchasing and procurement, manufacturing, distribution, innovation and logistics.

Stearman most recently was vice president, supply chain operations leader, at Tyson Foods Inc. and previously held senior leadership roles at Revlon Inc., Beam Suntory Inc. and Avon Products Inc.

TBC Corp. names Spunar next chief financial officer

TBC Corp. has named Marilyn Spunar as chief financial officer, replacing the retiring Scott Hurd.

Spunar, who has nearly three decades of experience in financial and strategic planning and implementation, will start her role on Oct. 1. She will oversee all of TBC's financial operations, reporting directly to Don Byrd, TBC's president and CEO.

Tire Discounters promotes Curlee to senior VP, COO

Tire Discounters has promoted Charles Curlee to senior vice president, chief operations officer.

Curlee will lead Tire Discounters and its subsequent brands' operations, support the organization's strategy and drive business performance goals.

Curlee began his career at Tire Discounters as a regional manager seven years ago. He has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry.

VIP's MacCausland named TIA secretary

The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has elected Gary MacCausland, senior vice president of operations and merchandising at VIP Tires & Service, to its Executive Committee during its recent mid-year board meeting.

MacCausland, who has served on the TIA Board for two years, was voted in as secretary. He officially will begin his term Nov. 4 during TIA's board meeting in Las Vegas before the opening of the 2024 Global Tire Expo/SEMA Show.

As secretary, MacCausland will be in line to take over as TIA president in 2026-27.

Habibnia named TRAC director of operations

The Tire and Rubber Association of Canada (TRAC) has hired Mahmood Habibnia to be its director of operations, succeeding the retiring Barry Yutronkie.

Habibnia has more than two decades of tire industry experience, having held various leadership roles at companies such as Michelin North America Inc. and Goodyear.

TRAC adds Michelin, Cabot execs to board

During its annual general meeting June 6, TRAC elected two executives to its board of directors — Michelle Black, Michelin North America (Canada) Inc.'s corporate counsel/strategic business adviser, and Christine Baker, Cabot Corp.'s product management and commercial strategy director for reinforcement materials in North America.

TRAC's 2024-25 board of directors comprises:

• Pamela Scarrow (chair) — Bridgestone Canada Inc.
• Chris Figel (1st vice-chair) — AirBoss of America Corp.
• Paul Christou (treasurer) — Goodyear Canada Inc.
• Christine Baker — Cabot Corp.
• Kim Rolfe — Continental Tire Canada Inc.
• Lawrence Kumar — Yokohama Tire (Canada)
• Maureen Kline — Pirelli Tire Inc.
• Michelle Black — Michelin North America (Canada) Inc.
• Paul Downey — Pliteq Inc.

Toyo names Holst as eastern division sales director

Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. has hired industry veteran Wally Holst as director of sales, eastern division, succeeding Kenny Fredrick who is retiring.

Holst has more than 27 years of experience in the tire industry. He is returning to the company after 11 years, having previously worked at Toyo as regional sales manager for car channel sales. He most recently worked as strategic account manager for Yokohama Tire Corp.

Yokohama promotes Chandgie to COO
Yokohama Tire Corp. has promoted Stan Chandgie to chief operating officer, effective April 1.

Chandgie will continue to oversee consumer and commercial sales, as he does in his current role as executive vice president of sales and support. He will now be responsible for marketing, tire business planning and supply chain/logistics.

Chandgie joined Yokohama in 2019. Before that, he held executive sales, marketing and service roles at Michelin and Exide Technologies.