TIA elects 3 new board members, re-elects another

BOWIE, Md. — Members of the Tire Industry Association (TIA) have elected three members and re-elected a fourth to its Board of Directors.

Those new members of the 18-member board include Chris Rhoades of specialty tire maker Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT), Copley, Ohio; Gary Schroeder of Goodyear subsidiary Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Findlay, Ohio; and Leigh-Ann Stewart of Kal Tire, Vernon, British Columbia.

Don Vanderheyden of Hennessy Industries, LaVergne, Tenn., was re-elected to a second term.

The newly elected directors will take office on Nov. 1 during TIA's annual membership meeting, which precedes the opening of the Global Tire Expo/SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Mr. Rhoades, with 22 years of OTR tire industry experience, is senior product manager, technical solutions for BKT and is developer of the company's SPOTech field evaluation solution. He formerly was with Bridgestone Americas Inc., where he served as the historical product manager of Bridgestone's TreadStat OTR tire and rim performance tracking solution.

Mr. Rhoades said he is passionate about seeing and developing the next generation of OTR industry experts and is interested in helping TIA's training and education group develop standards on tire tracking and performance analysis.

Mr. Schroeder, executive director of Cooper Tire's global truck and bus tire business, has 35 years of experience in sales and marketing, operations and finance, including 15 years in the tire industry.

For the last 10 years, he has overseen Cooper's global commercial tire business, expanding Cooper's truck and bus business into dealers, OEM and fleet, while creating strategic relationships with customers in each channel.

Mr. Schroeder said he hopes serving on the TIA Board will allow him to have a positive impact on the entire industry.

Ms. Stewart is director of health and safety for Kal Tire, where she has been the dealership's senior safety professional for eight years. Among her accomplishments are the implementation of a safety leadership program across 17 countries; directing safety strategies that have resulted in a more than 60% reduction in workplace accidents; and introducing safety and operational initiatives.

She has advised the senior executive team and learning/development teams on improvements to various operational business activities. She said she looks forward to sharing her experience from a safety perspective in the area of Occupational Safety and Health (OHS) law specific to passenger and light truck, commercial, industrial, farm and OTR tires to TIA.

Mr. Vanderheyden is vice president of commercial for Hennessy, which manufactures Coats wheel service equipment. He joined the company in 2001 and has held positions in purchasing, marketing and sales.

Mr. Vanderheyden said his focus is on the needs and challenges of the independent tire dealer. During his first term, he said he welcomed the opportunity to advocate, educate and provide support for TIA's membership and the entire tire industry.

"We welcome our newest board members and look forward to their contributions and leadership as the association begins its second 100 years serving independent tire dealers and the broader tire industry," TIA CEO Roy Littlefield said.