Bahri Kurter, who was Nokian Tyres’ executive vice-president Central Europe until leaving to “pursue his career” outside the company last year, is the new chief executive officer at toy manufacturer Playmobil. He commenced in this role in March 2023.
The EU ban on tyre imports from Russia has hit one company particularly hard: Nokian Tyres. Prior to February 2022, the Finnish manufacturer produced 17 million tyres a year in a factory near St. Petersburg, 82 per cent of its global output. Ten million of these were exported, mainly to Europe. This has no longer been possible since 10 July, with consequences for Nokian Tyres’ Central Europe sales region.
At a time when it is investing in new European capacity and exiting Russia, Finland’s Nokian Tyres has announced a reorganisation of its structure and management. These measures centre upon a combining of all Passenger Car Tyres commercial operations under the leadership of Anna Hyvönen, who currently serves as executive vice-president North America, Nordics and Vianor. Bahri Kurter, executive vice-president Central Europe at Nokian Tyres, is leaving the company to “pursue his career outside of Nokian Tyres.”
Nokian Tyres has shifted away from its Vianor retail franchise concept in Germany. The Finnish tyre manufacturer said that it is “continuing the close cooperation with our former Vianor dealers in a new, but similarly intensive way under our Nokian Authorised Dealers (NAD) marketing concept.” The move comes shortly after Nokian sold its US Vianor Tire Centers business to Point S, and signifies a move away from the Vianor branding outside the brand’s domestic-plus Nordic region, where Vianor is established with 186 Vianor Equity locations. Anna Hyvönen, SVP, Nordics & Vianor, told Tyres & Accessories that the company is enacting its plans to “optimise” its Central European and North American distribution network via NAD, “focusing on the quality of the partners and providing excellent support and benefits.”
Nokian Tyres’ mission statement is to provide motorists with “peace of mind in all conditions,” and Central Europe region SVP Bahri Kurter says Nokian is taking the “all conditions” aspect literally. Interest in products beyond its established winter business has grown in recent years and driven the launch of new summer tyres such as the Powerproof and Wetproof. Now Nokian Tyres is turning its attention to the growing all-season segment.
Bahri Kurter has been appointed Nokian Tyres’ new senior vice president, Central Europe. The tyre maker reports that he will take up the position in July 2019 at the latest, joining Nokian Tyres from Groupe SEB, where he was general manager D-A-CH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). Previously, Kurter served in various leadership positions at Puma, Nike and Procter & Gamble.
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Nokian Tyres; Dr. Falk Köhler PR