Bridgestone Americas has announced changes to its senior leadership structure, effective from September 16.
Aligned with the global leadership changes within its parent company Bridgestone Corporation, the new changes are a part of its initiative to develop global leaders throughout the company.
“The world around us and the industries we serve are rapidly transforming,” said Gordon Knapp, president and CEO, Bridgestone Americas, and Vice Chair, Executive Vice President and Executive Officer of Bridgestone Corporation. “These changes and new structure are strategic, and our ability to develop leaders into global roles across the Bridgestone portfolio is a competitive advantage and allows us to be more agile. Moving forward, we will continue to adapt our management structure to best meet the market challenges of today and prepare for the opportunities of tomorrow.”
As part of the new structure, T.J. Higgins has been named as the new Group President of Americas Tire Business for Bridgestone Americas. In this newly created role, Higgins will be responsible for the sales operations of all tire-led businesses throughout the region, even Bridgestone’s consumer and commercial tire businesses. Higgins became a part of the company in 2014 when he joined in as the President, Consumer Integrated Tire Division, Canada & U.S. at Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO).
The company has also appointed Scott Damon to the newly created position of Group President, Operations, for Bridgestone Americas. In his new role, Damon will be in charge of the company’s operational functions, such as information technology (IT), procurement and strategic sourcing, logistics and supply chain and manufacturing. As explained by Bridgestone, the company has created this new position to focus more on its end-to-end supply chain capabilities. Certain responsibilities of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) role, which has been redefined, also form part of this new position. Damon previously held the position of President, Commercial Group, U.S. & Canada, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO). Over his 23-year career within the company, Damon has served in several key leadership positions of increasing responsibility.
Additionally, Bridgestone has appointed Bill Thompson to the new senior leadership position of Executive Vice president, Business Transformation, Bridgestone Americas. According to the company, this position has been designed to manage digital transformation investments in infrastructure and growth platforms, the largest in Bridgestone’s history. Thompson was working as COO of Bridgestone Americas since 2016 till his new appointment. He has held several key leadership positions during his 23-year tenure within the company.
“The overall shift in structure reflects a holistic design that better aligns to match other regional Bridgestone business units and creates capacity for global talent development,” said Knapp. “We are playing to win. TJ, Scott and Bill each bring unique perspectives, experience and industry expertise to their new roles, and we are excited for the future.”