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January 13, 2020 12:08 PM

Tire makers shuffle executive positions in 2019

Tire Business Staff
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    Here are some of the top-level executive changes that occurred in the tire and automotive service industries during the past year:

    Alliance Tire Americas Inc.

     

    • Laurence Bennett hired as vice president of aftermarket sales – East; was vice president of GNB Industrial Power Division of Exide Technologies.

     

    American Tire Distributors Inc.

     

    • Greg Bell promoted to president of Tire Pros, succeeding Ron Sinclair who retired; was vice president of inside sales and call center.
    • Owen Schiano to newly created position of COO.

     

    Bridgestone Corp.

     

    • Shuichi Ishibashi to CEO, succeeding Masaaki Tsuya who has held that position since 2012.

     

    Bridgestone Americas Inc.

     

    • Paolo Ferrari promoted to president, CEO and COO of Bridgestone Americas, succeeding the retiring Gordon Knapp; was CEO of Bridgestone Europe.
    • TJ Higgins promoted to president, Americas Tire Business; was president, consumer integrated tire division, U.S. & Canada.
    • Scott Damon to group president, operations; was president, commercial group, U.S. & Canada.
    • Cara Adams to director, race tire engineering and production for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations and Firestone Racing; was chief engineer.

     

    Continental A.G.

     

    • Christian Koetz promoted to head of tire division, succeeding Nikolai Setzer who became spokesman for the newly created automotive board; was head of commercial vehicle tires business unit.

     

    Falken Tire Corp.

     

    • Bob Klimm promoted to director of sales, commercial division; was TBR division director.

     

    Fountain Tire Ltd.

     

    • Dave Deley promoted to senior vice president, stores.
    • Jason Herle to senior vice president, marketing, information systems and supply chain.
    • Nelson Tonn to vice president, sales and mine service.

     

    Goodyear

     

    • Ryan Waldron promoted to vice president, global off-highway businesses; was vice president in Americas region in charge of strategy and business development.

     

    Hankook Tire Co. Ltd.

     

    • Hyuk Rhee promoted to president and CEO of Hankook Tire Canada Corp.
    • Rob Williams to senior director of truck/bus radial sales, Hankook Tire America Corp.

     

    Jack Williams Tire Co.

     

    • Sam Senuk hired as vice president of retail; was senior vice president of store operations for Monro Inc.

     

    Kumho Tire Co. Inc.

     

    • Jeon Dae-jin promoted to CEO; was senior executive vice president.
    • Yong-Sik Shin to head of its America Business Division; was head of global sales.

     

    Leeds West Groups

     

    • Derek Wessels hired as COO; was region manager for Bridgestone Americas.

     

    Marangoni Tread North America

     

    • Clif Armstrong promoted to president and CEO, succeeding Bill Sweatman who retired; was vice president, business development.

     

    Michelin

     

    • Florent Menegaux promoted to CEO and managing chairman, succeeding Jean Dominique Senard, who became chairman of Groupe Renault; was senior executive vice president.
    • Alexis Garcin to chairman and president of Michelin North America Inc., succeeding Scott Clark, who was promoted to group executive vice president; was senior vice president of global long-distance transportation business.
    • Tony Ménard to director of motorsports, Michelin North America Inc., succeeding Chris Baker, who is retiring; was global business leader, passenger vehicle.

     

    Monro Inc.

     

    • Robert Rajkowski hired as COO, succeeding Evan Naylor, who left the company; was COO of AAMCO Transmission & Total Car Care.

     

    OK Tire Stores Inc.

     

    • Dwayne Sawyer promoted to director, commercial business group.

     

    Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.

     

    • Satoru Yamamoto promoted to CEO; was general manager of SRI's Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters.
    • Ikuji Ikeda to chairman; was president and CEO.

     

    TBC Corp.

     

    • Will Helton promoted to vice president and general manager of Midas, succeeding Ron Seagle who left the company; was division vice president of central U.S. and Canada regions.

     

    Tire Group International L.L.C.

     

    • Rick Wheeler promoted to vice president of national sales, a newly created position.

     

    Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.

     

    • Michael Graber promoted to vice president of sales, part of the company's succession plan following the retirement of senior vice president Randy Gaetz.

     

    VIP Tires & Service

     

    • Tim Winkeler to CEO in addition to his title as president, succeeding John Quirk who was named executive chairman.

     

    Virginia Tire & Auto

     

    • Mike and Julie Holmes to co-CEOs.
    • Ben Wilson to COO; was general manager.

     

    Yokohama Tire Corp.

     

    • Stan Chandgie to vice president of consumer sales, succeeding Larry Kull, who was promoted to vice president of sales and business operations; was vice president of sales and business transformation at Exide Technologies.

     

    Zafco International

    • John Thomas promoted to vice president of sales, West.
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    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

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