PERSONNEL
Jiangsu General has announced that vice president Liu Jianlong will no longer serve as vice president due to work adjustments, according to the company. Liu Jianlong’s resume shows that he had worked for a long time in HOdo Group, the second largest shareholder of Jiangsu General.
Petlas has appointed Okyanus Tuna as director – international sales and marketing, responsible for driving the brand’s commercial strategy across a wide European territory, including: Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia.
On 16 May 2025, Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. announced that it had given addition responsibility to a member of its senior management. The change became effective on 15 May 2025.
Sailun reports that it has appointed Canadian Peter Koszo as the company’s vice president. According to Sailun, Peter Koszo’s current position is president of Sailun Group’s North American market and director of Sailun Tires America Inc.
After more than a decade at the helm of the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA), CEO Stefan Hay will step down from his role this summer. Hay will formally leave the NTDA at the end of July 2025 and will take up the role of CEO at the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA) at the beginning of August. Recruitment for his successor is already well underway, with the NTDA board seeking a new chief executive to build on the platform Stefan Hay has established.
Cimcorp has appointed Simon Hester as its new regional director for Australia and New Zealand/Oceania. With a rich background in civil engineering, ICT, logistics, according to the company, the appointment marks “a new level of Cimcorp’s presence in the Oceania region, making it a significant step for the entire company.”
Paolo Pompei officially took over as chief executive officer (CEO) of Nokian Tyres Plc on 1 January 2025. With a distinguished career spanning decades in the tyre business including leadership positions at Yokohama TWS, Trelleborg Group, and Pirelli, Pompei brings a wealth of international expertise and a proven track record of driving growth and innovation. Since taking over at Nokian, production at the company’s landmark zero-emission Romania factory has got underway. And – as of the week prior to our exclusive interview – in early April, deliveries began.
After almost three decades of leadership by Andreas and Thomas Bawart, an external CEO has taken over operational management of Banner Batteries. Effective 1 April 2025, Werner Töpfl became chief executive officer. While the previous managing directors are withdrawing from the operational side of the business, they remain closely tied to the company as owners.
Satty Nanuwa joins as national sales and partnership manager, to support the continued focus on client service and Shahnaz Alamgir becomes product and digital marketing manager.
Magna Tyres Group has appointed Hein de Wind as its new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective immediately. de Wind will be responsible for “shaping and executing the global commercial strategy, accelerating the company’s growth, and reinforcing customer relationships across all regions”, according to the company.
Graham Stapleton is stepping down as a director of Halfords Group and Henry Birch has been named as his replacement as chief executive officer. Stapleton led Halfords for over seven years leading its strategic change from a cycling and motoring retailer to “a leading omnichannel retail and services business”. During Stapleton’s tenure, annual revenues grew from £1.1 billion to £1.7 billion with more than half of group sales now service-related (FY19: 24%).
Bickers Powersports has named Paul Stokoe as the company’s Northwest & Scotland region area sales manager (ASM). Stokoe experience in the off-road market and is described as “well-known in the industry, spending many years involved with off-road and bicycle”.
Following its recent acquisition of Autocalibration Ltd, A1 ADAS Group has appointed Ant Yates as Equipment Sales Specialist. Yates brings years of automotive aftermarket experience with him. He joins from ISN Garage Assist where he specialised in garage and tyre equipment.
On 28 March, Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama transferred senior executives who run its Chinese business. Specifically, the position of Associate Officer Tomoyuki Okuno was changed to Assistant to President of Hangzhou Qiantang Yokohama Tire. Before this, his position was President of this company. Hangzhou Qiantang is a passenger car tyre manufacturing base newly invested and built by Yokohama.
Ex-Bridgestone executive Paolo Ferrari has joined Element Fleet Management Corp., purportedly the largest publicly traded automotive fleet manager in the world. Specifically, Ferrari has been nominated to stand for election to the company’s board of directors at its shareholder AGM on 2 May 2025.
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