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.