Bridgestone appoints Marko Ibrahim to head USA retail business

Marko Ibrahim is the new president of Bridgestone Retail Operations (BSRO), the Bridgestone Americas subsidiary responsible for operating a network of more than 2,200 tyre and vehicle service centres across the United States of America. He succeeds Joe Venezia, who led the organisation since 2017 and has stepped down to pursue a leadership role outside of Bridgestone.

Ibrahim joined BSRO in February 2018 as vice president of stores and was promoted to senior vice president of stores in 2020. In this role he took responsibility for BSRO store and field operations, worked closely with leadership to deliver strong business results and successfully managed the company through a challenging pandemic year.

In his new role as president, Ibrahim will oversee the total Bridgestone retail business within the USA, with a focus on driving efficiency, profitability and increased customer count. He will lead BSRO’s 23,000 employees nationwide and an operation that serves more than 20 million customers annually.

“Since joining Bridgestone in 2018, Marko has made a great impact on our BSRO stores and operations – especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Gabriel Asbun, group president, Bridgestone Americas tyre business. “His ability to connect with BSRO store teams across the US and lead them to success is why BSRO is the most trusted provider in every neighbourhood we serve.”

Prior to joining Bridgestone, Ibrahim held a variety of leadership roles with major national retailers, most recently as senior vice president of North America retail for Office Depot, where he led all aspects of store operations for more than 1,400 retail outlets and a workforce of more than 25,000.

BSRO trades under the Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus and Wheel Works brand names.