Career Tracks
Nokian Tyres appoints new general counsel
On 26 February, Jaana Klinga will join Nokian Tyres as the company’s new General Counsel. She comes to the tyre maker from PwC Finland, where she worked for the previous four years as a partner and general counsel, and held overall responsibility for the firm’s legal matters and played a key role in its risk management and compliance. Klinga holds a Master of Laws degree from Helsinki University.
Davanti appoints MEA sales director to establish new regional office
Davanti Tyres has appointed Najib Chakhtoura sales director for the Middle East and Africa, in order to establish a “permanent presence” in the region. Chakhtoura is tasked with developing relationships with new and existing distributors to increase the brand’s global reach and sales volume. He previously held senior roles developing premium brands across the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and North and East Africa. Chakhtoura will establish a new regional office for Davanti to introduce the brand into new territories across North, East and West Africa, the Gulf States and the wider Middle East.
Continental appoints Bernabé to head Romanian tyre plant
Carlos Bernabé has returned to Continental’s tyre factory in Timișoara, Romania to take on the role of plant manager. The four-decade Continental veteran officially began in this position on 1 February after managing the company’s tyre plant in Alor Setar Malaysia for three years; prior to his sojourn in Malaysia, he worked at the Timișoara plant as production manager.
Pirelli names Berardi CEO, Crola chairman for North America
As of 1 March, Pietro Berardi will join Pirelli as the company’s chief executive officer for North America. Pirelli says this appointment is being made “in light of the ever more challenging competitive context” within the region. He takes over as chief executive officer from Marco Crola, who moves to the role of chairman North America “to ensure the continuity of actions already underway.”
Fintyre Group employee pay ‘coming’, restarting business operations a priority
All 16 companies in the German Fintyre Group have now applied to open insolvency proceedings. But what lies ahead for the 1300-plus employees awaiting wages and salaries, the affected companies’ creditors, and the companies themselves? Sebastian Brunner, spokesman for Miguel Grosser, the provisional insolvency administrator at law firm Jaffé, told our sister website in Germany, Reifenpresse.de, that approximately 200 Reifen Krieg employees will receive their outstanding January wages and salaries in the coming days. Business at the group’s wholesalers and retailers is largely at a standstill, though the office of the provisional insolvency administrator has some more positive news on this too.
Kumho Tire appoints Keon Park its UK managing director
Keon Park is the new managing director at Kumho Tyre UK. He succeeds Myong Joong (Tino) Choi, who returns to Kumho’s headquarters in Korea after heading up the UK operation for the past five years.
Longstanding TecAlliance team member takes on TecDoc responsibility
As the number of TecDoc users had increased significantly during the previous few years, in 2010, Jason Meade joined Shaun Greasley, the brand’s then regional manager, to become the UK and Ireland’s full-time technical support representative assisting official data suppliers and catalogue users with a multitude of enquiries from product upload matters, to fine-tuning the most efficient search method in order to identify the most unusual of replacement components or repair time information.
Hankook appoints Paul Emery as sales director
Hankook Tyre UK has appointed Paul Emery as sales director effective 1 February 2020. He joined the company as UK sales manager of the truck and bus tyre segment. Emery brings over 30 years in the tyre industry in various managerial roles to the position.
Bush Tyres’ Ken Nicholson records 55 years of service
B.A Bush & Son (Bush Tyres) has congratulated Ken Nicholson on surpassing 55 years of continued service to the company. Nicholson registered the achievement in January 2020, having worked for four generations of the Bush family, starting with company founder Benjamin Arthur Bush, then his son Ivor Bush, and up to present day directors, Nigel Bush (Ivor's son) and Nigel's two sons, Ben and Tom.
Experienced CTO Rob Harber joins CAM
CAM has appointed experienced senior manager Rob Harber as chief technology officer. He will oversee the technical direction of the company and manage the reengineering of aspects of its software solutions to anticipate and meet customers’ requirements, spearheaded by Azure Cloud migration, CAM states.
Matt Johnson to head new Maxam Mining Group operation
A new team has been set up within Maxam Tire to handle the specific requirements of customers in the open pit mining segment. Maxam Mining Group (MMG) is made up of team members across multiple continentals who are tasked with serving regional market demands. It is headed by Matt Johnson, who has been appointed the operation’s vice president.
Kenda expanding Germany R&D centre
Kenda Rubber Industrial has expanded its research and development centre in Germany, reinforcing its development team in Winsen (Luhe). Italian Antonio Gallo has joined Kenda Europe Technical Center (KETC) as a tyre tester to put the Taiwanese manufacturer’s high-performance tyres through their paces.
NFDA’S Drive My Career initiative reaches 2.5m 16-24 year-olds in 2019
Drive My Career is an industry-first employment initiative which was launched to address franchised retailers’ concerns that not many young people generally consider the automotive retail sector as an option for their professional careers.
Bridgestone announces management changes in Americas, Asia Pacific
We can expect a flurry of business card printing and updates to LinkedIn profiles at Bridgestone in the near future following the announcement of several key appointments in the Americas and Asia Pacific regions. These latest executive management changes follow those announced in December 2019.
GKN Wheels names Abdul Butt as CEO
GKN Wheels and Structures has announced the appointment of Abdul Butt as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately.