Bridgestone Firestone Announces Two Key Appointments

Two key appointments have been made at Bridgestone Firestone Off Road Tire Company (BFOR), a division of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT). Mike Poirer and Wilhelm Brau have joined BFOR and will work in the areas of marketing, sales and distribution for the Continuum brand of retreading materials.

Mike Poirier, formerly North American OTR sales manager for Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions, joins BFOR as general manager Corporate Accounts and Original Equipment. Wilhelm Brau joins BFOR as general manager Continuum Retread and Recycle Solutions. Brau served most recently as vice president of Sales and Operations for RDH Tire & Retread Company.

“The addition of Mike and Willie to the BFOR team is an important step in our ability to deliver a one-stop, integrated new and retread tire service solution to fleets,” said Shawn Rasey, vice president, BFOR.

Poirier is responsible for managing the BFOR strategic account sales group. He will replace Russ King, a 21-year veteran of BFOR, who will retire later this year. In his new role, Poirier will work to expand the BFOR range on offer to corporate accounts. This appointment marks a return to Bridgestone Firestone for Poirier – he worked from 1990 to 1995 as a commercial territory manager and a region account executive. He spent the last 13 years with Bandag, now part of the Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions organisation, in various sales and marketing positions.

Brau is responsible for sales and distribution management, working with OTR retreaders and BFOR servicing dealers. He will also support retread marketing efforts. Brau began his career with General Tire as a retread plant manager, and has held various sales roles with Jim Martin Tire Company and Boulevard Tire. He joined RDH Tire & Retread Company in 2004 and worked with customers and products in Canada, United States, Mexico, Peru, Italy, Germany and Russia.