Sanchini Bridgestone’s sales director for MEA

Stefano Sanchini has been appointed sales director for Bridgestone in the Middle East & Africa region. He joins Bridgestone from Goodyear, and although the tyre maker only recently announced his appointment, Sanchini has been with Bridgestone since August 2017.

Sanchini brought more than 18 years of automotive industry experience, including 14 within the tyre industry, with him to Bridgestone. His most recent previous role was as director of sales within Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Middle East & Africa regions, a position held between August 2016 and July 2017, and he was employed by Goodyear for almost five years in total. Prior responsibilities include a number of positions at Pirelli and Pirelli companies between 1999 and 2012.

The main remit for Sanchini is to manage sales activities for Bridgestone Middle East and Africa’s Branches, Commercial Channel Development, Technical Services (Commercial and Consumer) and Retail divisions. He will draw upon his five years of experience in Middle East and African markets as well as know-how gained in production, supply chain, IT, marketing and sales roles. “Experience has shown me that the MEA region presents automotive brands with a unique set of opportunities, which I’m thrilled to be helping Bridgestone capitalise on,” he comments.

“A combination of tough road conditions and a passion for driving has seen high demand for commercial and high-performance tyres in the region, along with convenient, affordable maintenance,” Sanchini continues. “With this at top of mind, expanding networks of First Stop service centres are currently being rolled out in the Middle East. My goal is to make sure our branches and partners can satisfy the growing demand for quality tyres, and keep the region’s motorists on the move.”

Supporting Sanchini with the task of increasing profitability for Bridgestone in MEA is Berna Akinci, who was appointed marketing general manager last year. She joined the Bridgestone regional business from Brisa, the tyre maker’s Turkish joint venture operation with the Sabanci Group. In her role, Akinci is responsible for Bridgestone’s product management, market intelligence, channel management, communication, and business planning in the MEA markets.

Akinci carries over experience in these areas from her time at Brisa Turkey, where she rose to the position of commercial products marketing manager. As such, she was a key member of the management team driving growth within Brisa through strategic initiatives including the development of a second factory, retail expansion, the launch of a non-tyre product portfolio, and the creation of a customer value proposition, among other initiatives.

“This is a very exciting time for Bridgestone. Not only has the company recently launched some fantastic innovations in its product line-up, but we have ambitious plans to grow our retail offer through giving motorists the tyres they need for every road condition,” commented Akinci. “We know the automotive market is fiercely competitive here, which makes the department’s role in communicating the benefits of Bridgestone’s products and services all the more important. Ultimately, we want motorists to gain the most from their vehicle, and tyres have an integral part to play in this.”