Two New North American Execs for Kumho

As reported at the start of January, Kumho Tire North America has a new CEO and president. Following this appointment, Kumho Tire Co., Inc., has announced that a second executive has been promoted to a senior position in North America. The new CEO and president of Kumho Tire North America is B.K. Kim, and Don Hun (D.H.) Ham has been named president of Kumho Tire USA., Inc.

Kim will oversee the company’s North American operations, including that of Kumho Tire USA and Kumho Tire Canada. He will be headquartered in the Californian town of Rancho Cucamonga. Kim joined Kumho’s overseas sales division in 1974 and served in a number of roles within that division, including vice president, before appointment to the position of senior vice president of the OEM sales division in 1999. In 2005 he became senior executive vice president in charge of the sales division, and the following year was named head of the sales and administration division.

In this newly created position, Kim will oversee Kumho’s North American operations, which include Kumho Tire U.S.A., Inc., and Kumho Tire Canada, Inc. His office will be located in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Kim joined Kumho Tire Co., Inc., in 1974 in the company’s overseas sales division. He served in a variety of duties in that division, including vice president, before taking on the role of senior vice president of the OEM sales division in 1999. In 2005 he was named senior executive vice president in charge of the sales division, becoming head of the sales and administration division in 2006.

Ham replaces Kyu S. Cho, who retired from Kumho in December 2006. Ham has been with the company since 1978, when he joined the overseas sales division. He served in a number of international postings before being named senior vice president of general affairs and administration for Kumho Polychem Co., Ltd., in 2000. He rejoined Kumho Tire in 2006. Ham will also be headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga.

When Kim addressed Kumho’s annual dealer sales meeting on January 6 he outlined the company’s vision and future direction. “We recently introduced a new global brand identity for Kumho,” said Kim. “Our new logo represents speed, precision and forward progression. These are characteristics that we believe our company and our products possess, and they are characteristics that we want our customers to think of when they see our brand.

“Our logo is just one of the many changes taking place at Kumho,” he said. “The global tyre industry is changing as manufacturers are closing factories and eliminating broad line product offerings that are not profitable. While other brands falter or remain stagnant, Kumho’s global strategy is to expand manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure to be the fifth largest manufacturer by 2015.”

Kim added that Kumho has evaluated every aspect of their business to make this goal a reality.