Hankook Tire names new North America president

Curtis Brison is the new president of Hankook Tire North America (formerly Hankook Tire America). He succeeds Sooil Lee, who remains chief executive officer of Hankook Tire & Technology. Additionally, Hankook Tire North America has promoted Robert Williams to senior vice president of Truck, Bus and Radial (TBR) sales and Jong Jin (JJ) Park to vice-president of marketing.

“The North American market is critical to our global business strategy, and Curtis, JJ and Rob have been instrumental to accelerating our growth,” says Sooil Lee, president and chief executive officer, Hankook Tire & Technology. “Curtis has proven his strength as a sales leader with a strong commitment to customer success. Rob has demonstrated success throughout the TBR sector. JJ has driven marketing strategies that have had a positive impact throughout the region. All are integral members of the team, who will be essential to navigating the years ahead for Hankook throughout North America.”

As president of Hankook Tire North America, Brison oversees the US and Canada regions. He will lead four departments and direct teams including the Tennessee Plant. He also will continue to oversee the US Passenger Car and Light Truck (PCLT) department, where he has served as vice-president since joining Hankook in 2020.

“Hankook continues to bring the right combination of performance, innovation and quality to the development of our passenger and commercial tyre portfolios,” said Brison. “I am honoured to work with our teams across North America to further drive innovation and success for Hankook and our customers throughout the tyre industry.”

New TBR sales, marketing chiefs

Williams oversees all TBR tyre sales at Hankook, including replacement and OE sales, and will continue to lead the TBR sales team and regional offices as senior vice-president. He joined Hankook as senior director of TBR sales in 2019, bringing with him more than three decades of tyre industry experience.

Park will oversee five teams as vice-president of marketing: marketing strategy team, TBR marketing team, technical service team, America Regional Distribution Centers (RDC), operation team, and Canada sales subsidiary. He has served as the marketing director and US sales innovation director for Hankook Tire America and will continue to serve as marketing director in his new role. Park joined Hankook Tire in 2005 and has experience in America and the UK. Bartek Choi will assume Park’s former role as US sales innovation director.

In addition, Yong Sup (Peter) Jung who served as chief operating officer for Hankook Tire America for the past two years, has relocated to Hankook’s Asia-Pacific division with a focus on expanding brand recognition and market growth. He will be based in Jakarta, Indonesia.