Tyres & Accessories interviews new Nokian Tyres CEO, Paolo Pompei

Paolo Pompei officially took over as chief executive officer (CEO) of Nokian Tyres Plc on 1 January 2025. With a distinguished career spanning decades in the tyre business including leadership positions at Yokohama TWS, Trelleborg Group, and Pirelli, Pompei brings a wealth of international expertise and a proven track record of driving growth and innovation. Since taking over at Nokian, production at the company’s landmark zero-emission Romania factory has got underway. And – as of the week prior to our exclusive interview – in early April, deliveries began.

Our wide ranging discussion explores the practical steps on the journey towards Nokian Tyres’ ambitious 2-billion-euro net sales target, plus Pompei’s  strategies for expanding in key markets like Central Europe and North America, as well as his commitment to advancing safety and sustainability.

The first question we asked was: With the first quarter of 2025 under your belt, what is your experience of transitioning to the leadership of Nokian Tyres?

Further topics under discussion include:

• Sustainability, safety and the growth of passenger car and light truck products
• How the new Romania plant has been delivering tyres since end of March
• Local for local tyre production strategies and mitigating uncertainty
• The growth potential in heavy tyres and even military tyres
• And what the new appointment means personally

This article is a short preview. The full interview will be published in the forthcoming May edition of Tyres & Accessories and subsequently online. Not a subscriber? No problem, click here to become one.