Bridgestone promotes three within its North American operation

Bridgestone Americas has announced the promotion of three of its team to new roles within Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO). Erik Seidel has become vice-president of sales, Brad Booth director of consumer sales, and Mike Hall has been appointed director of consumer customer service.

“These three promotions are strategic moves that will strengthen our ability to service our customers and our end-user consumers,” said John Baratta, president of BATO’s US and Canada consumer replacement tyre sales. “As a premier place to work, it’s important for Bridgestone to foster and grow the company’s best talent. Erik, Brad and Mike have demonstrated their ability to cultivate strong relationships and build trust, and their leadership will allow us to find new and innovative ways to grow our business and the businesses of our customers.”

As vice-president of consumer replacement tyre sales, Seidel will be responsible for consumer tyre sales across the US and Canada, a role that includes the following segments: tyre dealers, national customers, purchase/resale, car dealers, Bridgestone Retail Operations, government sales and motorcycle tyre division sales. Seidel joined Bridgestone as vice-president of brand marketing in 2013, and is credited as being instrumental in bolstering the Bridgestone and Firestone brands in key consumer metrics such as brand awareness, purchase consideration and purchase intent. Prior to joining Bridgestone, he worked at Kimberly-Clark Corporation, where he managed a number of brands. Seidel earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also earned an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a master’s degree in manufacturing management from the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, both at Northwestern University.

Brad Booth, who has been promoted to director of consumer dealer sales, will be responsible for all dealer channel sales, as well as motorcycle tyre division sales. Booth has been with Bridgestone for 27 years and held various positions in marketing, sales and operations. In his previous role as director, consumer operations and sales programmes, Booth was responsible for developing programmes and strategies for US and Canadian replacement tyre sales. Booth earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising from Murray State University.

Mike Hall, a 22-year Bridgestone veteran, will assume the role of director of consumer customer service. In that position, he will lead the 35-person customer service team that manages order entry, fulfilment and all aspects of customer deliveries. Hall began his career with Bridgestone in customer service, transferring eight years later to sales/demand planning. He then moved into consumer sales, where he held positions of increasing responsibility including area sales manager, regional marketing manager and assistant region general manager. Hall earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ashland University.