Michelin creates Europe North region, names Anish Taneja CEO

As of 1 January 2018, Michelin is restructuring its global organisation into ten newly-created regions. The UK finds itself in what has been named the Michelin Europe North region, along with Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Covering the former sales regions for Germany/Austria/Switzerland, the UK and the Nordics, the new regional operation is led by Anish K Taneja, who from the start of the year holds the post of chief executive officer, Michelin Europe North.

The aim of creating these ten global regions, states the tyre maker and mobility specialist, is to “deliver an even stronger focus on customers’ needs, to simplify procedures and to expand digital services and processes.” Michelin expects the restructure will give its staff more freedom in decision making as well as increased autonomy and responsibility.

“Rapid change is a sign of our times,” comments Taneja. “Michelin’s new structures are characterised by efficient and transparent processes giving staff a high degree of individual responsibility and an increased scope of action. More than ever we see ourselves as a mobility provider with a product and service portfolio aimed entirely at fulfilling our customers’ needs. Refocusing our activities towards customer structures and processes will make it easier for our customers to do successful business with Michelin. That is how we will achieve profitable growth in clearly defined steps.”

Prior to joining Michelin in 2013, Anish Taneja held positions at Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Sixt SE. His most recent role within Michelin was responsibility for all commercial activities of the previous Michelin region covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Headquarters for the Michelin Europe North headquarters will be in Germany, as will the new centre for the region’s automotive OEM business. In addition, the key accounts in all four European regions will be handled by the Michelin Europe North management team. Michelin sees the placement of these global and European functions within Europe North as underscoring the importance of this region for the group as a whole. In terms of turnover, Europe North is the third-largest of the ten new Michelin regions – just behind the US and Europe South, which includes Michelin’s home market of France.

When creating the new regions, Michelin shares that it placed markets with similar customer needs together within a region. “We have compared the different customer demands in our markets with each other,” elaborates Taneja. “The new regions’ boundaries run along natural borders where customers have similar demands of Michelin and of our products and services. In future, we will be able to react even faster and with even more precision to market changes and requirements.”

With the formation of a new management team, the tyre manufacturer also wants to initiate a rethink among its employees and distributors with the aim of being able to react in a more flexible way to the constant changes in regional markets. The group’s motto is customer orientation – less central, more local.