Empowerment Management: T&A talks to New Goodyear Dunlop UK MD

When Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe said it had appointed George Rietbergen as managing director UK and Ireland in March, the announcement meant the Dutchman would become the operation’s third managing director since 2004. During that time significant changes have taken place in the company’s UK and Eire operations including the separation of HiQ in a hard franchised passenger car only retail operation and a Truck Force network; the adoption of multi-brand and multi-company distribution strategy via outsourced third party logistics (namely Norbert Dentressangle) and a significant number and scope of personnel changes. Set against this backdrop you could be forgiven for expecting more upheaval, but as Tyres & Accessories recently found out in an exclusive interview with the new MD, he brings with him a refreshingly up-front Hollandic approach and an understated management style that puts the emphasis on the departmental heads and middle managers rather than “the man at the top.”

Having spent the first decade of his career at well-known Dutch airline KLM, George Rietbergen switched to tyres and brought his experience of the then relatively new online booking model to an e-business role at Goodyear Dunlop’s Brussels office. It wasn’t long before he was responsible for running the retail business in Europe (something he did for roughly three years) before spending five years leading Goodyear Dunlop’s Benelux operation.

When it comes to running Goodyear Dunlop’s British Isles’ tyre business this background is important because it demonstrates he is not new to the tyre business; and because he brings with him new energy and enthusiasm for the winter tyre business which appears as if it could be approaching tipping point in the UK after many years of slow growth. But more on both these points later.

Empowering leadership – ‘I push responsibility as low as it can go’

However good his CV is there are probably still those wondering – to put it bluntly – how long this managing director is planning to stay in the UK? Ask a straight question and you get a straight answer. Mark Brickhill stayed for four years, keeping his word that he would stay that long. Bearing in mind the fact that Rietbergen has brought his children over to England and his wife (who was a GP in the Netherlands) has sold her medical practice to come to live in Birmingham, there is no reason to think he means anything different when he says he plans to stay “three to five years.”

In a refreshingly candid exchange Rietbergen then went on to give a taste of how his management philosophy is based on empowering others. Referring to the question of how long he is planning to stay in the UK, notwithstanding the commitments he has already made (above), he observed: “It is not about me, it is not about me leading a company. I am a strong believer in developing other leaders who then make the difference – raising up ‘middle managers’ for want of a better word.”

“Rather than micro-managing tasks or being a ‘presidential’ kind of leader, the MD should take care of the company’s direction and mission, communication within the firm and appointing the right people. When it comes to execution of the plans, says Rietbergen, the leaders working under the managing director are responsible for this: “I push responsibility as low as possible. People should think as if they were their own entrepreneurs – ‘what would I do if this was my company?’”

Bearing in mind Rietbergen’s early career with Goodyear, it is no surprise to learn that he is “still closely watching the online business” as an area that is of “key interest.” However as enthusiastic as he is about the possibilities associated with online selling, he is also pragmatic about the practical considerations that will always have to be taken into account.

“Almost every week I get a call from a new entrepreneur who maybe hasn’t considered that tyres still need to be fitted,” Rietbergen observed, commenting that consumer research shows that the online market continues to grow significantly year-on-year, but in his opinion it still occupies the low single digits as a percentage share of the overall UK market: “This will definitely grow and HiQ online is ready for this as it enters its second year.”

Winter’s coming

Recent moves by car manufacturers and large tyre retail chains appear to be breathing new life into the typically contrary British winter tyre market. Until the combination of the coldest winter for three decades last year and the tyre supply shortages caused by capacity being directed to the production of cold weather products kicked in, it appeared as it would take significant pressure to jolt the UK market into any kind of large-scale winter product push. However, as can be seen elsewhere in this month’s UK section, there are signs that this is starting to happen and the significance of bringing in a former Dutch Goodyear MD into this context is not to be underestimated.

When Rietbergen took the reigns as Goodyear Dunlop Benelux head five years ago he came into a market that, despite experiencing a comparable winter climate to the British Isles, had managed to grow a winter tyre market from virtually nothing to a significant 11 per cent share of replacement tyre sales. By the time Rietbergen moved on, this had almost double to around 20 per cent in just five years.

For his part Rietbergen confesses that he brings with him “an enthusiasm for the winter market,” adding that the fleets belonging to the emergency services are a real priority here. When it comes to the wider market he says the emphasis must be on communicating the benefit of specialist winter tyre products to the consumers that will have to pay out to fit the tyres. Future considerations could follow on another Dutch-inspired incentive – the winter tyre related insurance discount: “Fleets in Benelux have done their actuarial homework on this,” Rietbergen explained. “And of course a strong winter will help too.”

Evolution not revolution

But that is not to say that the manufacturer hasn’t got its own part to play. While the fact that 2009 was hard on premium tyre suppliers is well known, Rietbergen reports that 2010 has also been a tough year, with manufacturers challenged by an enormous production push in the market. Goodyear Dunlop has been ramping up production to meet the increased demand, but the company has also been introducing new IT systems across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. This “re-engineering” of the company’s business processes took place at the start of 2010 and came at the same time as some of the supply issues.

So, in order to demonstrate its commitment to meeting customer expectations the company recently appointed Norbert Hecking, who as a German national is charged with injecting some Teutonic efficiency as its new supply chain manager.  In addition the company has appointed Eddy Geerdink, who previously worked with Rietbergen in the Netherlands, to develop the dealer support aspects of the marketing department.

Referring to the appointment of former HiQ head Juergen Titz (who has now been replaced by ex-franchise manager Peter Tye) as director of Goodyear Dunlop UK’s consumer tyre business, Rietbergen commented: “Juergen Titz is a great business guy who has led HiQ well to a strong position.” For him it was important to appoint someone who understands what it means to run the retail business.

Are there any further personnel changes to come? From now on it is said to be more a question of evolution rather than revolution and the emphasis appears to be very much on “empowering and developing people.” In George Rietbergen’s words “people make the difference and collaborative work with customers and the trade – meaning joint business planning and forecasting” is the way forward. The days of “I need 30,000 tyres tomorrow” are said to be over. Rather the new Goodyear Dunlop MD is looking forward to an era of “making use of each others assets.”

This could even include closer working relationships with distribution partners (such as large retailers and wholesalers). “We cannot [independently] operate deliveries two or three times a day, we have to work together in order to be able to do this. We all have a role to play.

What about the mid-range shift?

In answering what Goodyear Dunlop was planning to do to counter the significant ground taken by mid-range tyre suppliers such as the Korean bloc, Rietbergen pointed out that the company remains a leader in both the premium segment and overall. On top of this “no-on else has invested so much in developing passenger car tyre ranges and adding new products.” He believes that investing in innovation is the key, with continued emphasis on the importance of safety and performance characteristics.

In the commercial vehicle segment, now that the company has re-structured its retail and sales organisations, the strategy is more about focusing on total overall cost rather than individual characteristics such as fuel usage reductions or initial cost. “Compare it with the airline business,” Rietbergen comments harking back to his days at KLM, “there is always a cheaper ticket but these can often be cheap but expensive.” Initial price point is one thing, but “have you ever tried to change the names or even the flight times on a budget ticket?”, he asked.

A similar philosophy is important when it comes to passenger car fleets. Here employers could benefit from learning more about the relative benefits of premium tyre products, says Rietbergen: “What does my [hypothetical] employer think of sending me out on a set of cheap tyres?…The UK trade has a fantastic opportunity to better communicate the unique selling points of tyres and therefore get the right price for them.”

Related News:

• Norbert Hecking Appointed Goodyear Dunlop UK Market Supply Chain Director

• Peter Tye Becomes Goodyear Dunlop UK Retail Director; Heads up HiQ

• Goodyear Dunlop UK Appoints New Consumer Director, New HiQ Head to Follow

• Brickhill: Tyre Labelling to Facilitate Tyre Value Conversation

• Goodyear Dunlop Regaining Lost UK Truck Tyre Market Share

• Goodyear Dunlop EMEA Announces Management Reshuffle

• Goodyear Dunlop Names George Rietbergen As New UK MD