Matthias Urban new head of sales at Apollo Vredestein

Matthias Urban has taken over the role of head of sales at Apollo Vredestein. He succeeds Jaap van Wessum, who will leave the company later this year after spending more than two decades there in various functions. The former Goodyear Dunlop business unit and marketing director began in his new position with Apollo Vredestein on 1 July.

Prior to joining Apollo Vredestein, Urban spent more than a decade at Goodyear and its subsidiaries, initially as managing director of Goodyear entity Trentyre Pty Ltd and then, from April 2011, as director of sales within Goodyear Dunlop’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region consumer tyre business. In October 2013 he was appointed product business unit director and marketing director consumer tyres for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

“I am very happy to join such a dynamic and very customer focused company like Apollo Vredestein and being part of such an excellence management team,” commented Urban. Mathias Heimann, the tyre maker’s Europe and Americas region president, added: “Apollo Vredestein is delighted that Matthias Urban is joining Apollo Vredestein. With his wealth of knowledge and experience within the tyre industry, he is sure to become a driving force in the development in our business in Europe.”

Jaap van Wessum started his career at Apollo Vredestein over 20 years ago as a trainee in the export department, and he later held various positions in marketing and sales. From 2010, van Wessum served as head of sales and will remain with the company for the time being to ensure a smooth transition by the end of the year.