Shelton Appointed to Lead New Bridgestone NA Department

The current Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNT) vice president of Supply, Planning & Sourcing (SP&S), Steve W. Shelton, is to assume leadership of a newly established company department – Logistics Supply Chain Management. Shelton will begin in this role as of January 1, 2009. The new group will be a part of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), the newly announced integrated Americas tyre business.

According to Asahiko “Duke” Nishiyama, president and vice chairman, BFNT and, as of January 1, 2009, chairman, CEO and president of BATO, this new group will integrate the supply, planning and sourcing functions with logistics, a configuration BFNT says will create efficiencies to better manage supply and demand, reduce or eliminate supply chain related costs, and assist in providing for quick and coordinated responses to market changes. The company further says this new alignment reflects industry trends that recognise the importance of a totally integrated supply chain.

“With his experience and strong team building and analytical skills, Steve is an excellent candidate to assume these responsibilities,” commented Nishiyama. Shelton has worked in the tyre industry since 1984, joining Bridgestone/Firestone in 1993 as a senior project engineer in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1994 he joined the company’s Wilson, North Carolina plant, where he held positions of increasing responsibility including division leader Technical and Quality Assurance and section manager, Production. In 2002, Shelton accepted an assignment as manager, Process Engineering Development (PED) in Nashville and was promoted to director, PED Tire Development & Uniformity in 2005. He served as director, Product/Process Strategic Marketing, Consumer Tire Sales, during 2007, and accepted his current assignment as vice president, SP&S, at the beginning of this year. Shelton earned his bachelors degrees in physics and mathematics from Lynchburg College and his MBA from Duke University.

Shelton will report to Nick Zaitsu in his capacity as executive vice president, BATO. Reporting to Shelton in his new assignment will be: Phil Knopp, director, Supply Chain Process and Integration; Richard Tucker, senior manager, Inventory and Customer Relations; Kim Vo, manager, Strategic Supply Planning; John Huffman, manager, Commercial Supply Planning; Tom Seitz, general manager, Transportation; Robert Gardenhire, general manager, Warehousing; and Rick Burnett, finance manager. In addition, Leonardo Andrade, who is responsible for supply chain planning for Bridgestone Americas Latin American business, will have a “dotted-line” reporting relationship to Shelton.