Işık to succeed Etzel as Conti Americas CEO

FORT MILL, S.C. — Continental A.G.'s replacement tire business in the Americas will be under new leadership starting May 1.

Jochen Etzel, CEO of Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C., is retiring after more than 30 years with the German tire maker, including more than a decade at the helm of its Americas region.

Tansu Işık, an exec with 20-plus years experience with Continental, will succeed Etzel as CEO and be the new head of Continental's Business Area Replacement Tires the Americas.

Işık leads Continental's truck tire business in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and is responsible for its retread and digital solutions business in the region as head of Region South & Channels Fleet and OE Trailer. He will report directly to Christian Koetz, executive board member and head of Continental Tires.

Continental called Etzel — CEO of Continental Tire the Americas since 2011 — a "cornerstone" of its tire business in the region, whose impact "has been immeasurable."

Etzel, 65, joined Continental in 1991 as a lawyer in its corporate law department. Later, he became a financial manager responsible for developing the company's tire business outside of Europe, before leading Continental's corporate mergers and acquisitions team.

"On behalf of the entire tires board, I want to sincerely thank him for his leadership, dedication and outstanding contributions throughout his tenure. We wish him a well-deserved and fulfilling retirement," Koetz said.

"At the same time, we are excited to welcome Tansu Işık into his new role as head of our Business Area Replacement Tires the Americas. With his deep tires expertise and strategic insight, he is perfectly equipped to build on our success and lead our tire business in the Americas into the future."

Işık began his Continental career in 2002 as a business development specialist in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, he moved to Continental's Hanover, Germany, headquarters as head of pricing for EMEA, before relocating to Shanghai as director and then vice president for key account management (OE) China and the Asia-Pacific region (APAC).

From 2017, Işık has worked as head of marketing for the company's replacement tire business in EMEA, then led the Strategic Business Development and Global Marketing organization of Continental Tires.