Bridgestone Americas Appoints First Female Plant Manager

Bridgestone Metalpha U.S.A., Inc. (BMU), a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc., announced on August 11 that Donna Bright has been promoted to plant manager of the BMU radial steel cord manufacturing facility in Clarksville, Tennessee. With the promotion, effective August 16, Bright becomes the first female plant manager at any Bridgestone Americas facility.

“She’s a natural,” said BMU president Kenji Yamasaki. “She has a proven record of experience in leadership and I’m excited about the future of BMU with her as our plant manager.” Ms Bright added: “I’ve had a tremendous experience working with everyone at Bridgestone Metalpha U.S.A., Inc. We have a talented team of individuals and we make a quality product. I’m looking forward to the responsibilities of my new position.”

Bright joined BMU in 1996 during the plant’s start-up and was most recently the leadership development coordinator. In her 12 years with BMU, Bright has held numerous leadership positions as production support coach, planning lead coach, FP lead coach, business planning manager and production manager. She graduated from Nashville State Community College with an A.S. in Industrial Engineering and a B.B.A. in Management Concentration from Austin Peay State University. Before joining the BMU team, Bright worked in retail and apparel, managing warehouse and customer service operations.