TireHub LLC has revealed the names of six leaders from Bridgestone Americas Inc. and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. who are working with industry newcomer Peter Gibbons at the newest U.S. tire distribution company. There’s also another former Starbucks leader on board.
TireHub began operations this week with more than 1,000 employees. Here's a look at seven people who are at the top. Gibbons, the CEO, began work in January 2018. He has 25 years of experience in business and supply chain, and has worked for consumer, retail and specialty chemicals industries. He joined the tire industry after most recently serving as head of development and product supply for toymaker Mattel Inc. and previously served as executive vice president of global supply chain operations for Starbucks Coffee Co.
“From customer service to product search to tire delivery, TireHub is set up to better serve tire dealers and retailers," says Gibbons. "Fulfilling the needs of our customers will always be our guiding compass. There is nothing more important to us than delivering an incredible customer experience so that our dealers and retailers have a tire distributor who makes business easy and increases their bottom line.”
Scott King is chief financial officer. He joins TireHub after most recently serving as senior vice president of strategy and business development for Goodyear.
King also had worked as vice president of finance for Goodyear's engineered products division and led the transition of the business as it was sold to The Carlyle Group. He served as chief financial officer for the spin-off company, Veyance Technologies. Earlier he worked for FTI Consulting, a financial advisory firm, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Ned Aguilar is among the team members coming from Bridgestone. Aguilar is vice president of sales and marketing for TireHub. He was part of the executive management team at Hibdon Tire Center in Oklahoma City. When Hibdon was sold to Morgan Tire & Auto Inc. (MTA) in 1998, Aguilar became vice president of sales and marketing for MTA/Tires Plus and helped the business expand from 150 to 450 locations in five years. He joined Bridgestone when the tire maker acquired MTA, and he worked as vice president of marketing for Bridgestone's retail operations as it brought the MTA, Tires Plus, Wheel Works, Hibdon, Michael Tire and Avellino Tire operations under the Bridgestone retail umbrella, alongside the Firestone Complete Auto Care brand. He most recently was vice president of business development for the consumer integrated group, where he supported acquisition opportunities that were focused on broadening distribution strategies.
Sylvia Wilks is vice president of operations for TireHub. She joins the company from Kimberly-Clark, where she served as vice president of global procurement and chief procurement officer for two years. She handled purchasing of indirect and direct materials worldwide, and managed supplier relations. Wilks previously spent 15 years at Starbucks, in both Europe and North America, before ultimately serving as vice president of global procurement.
Chris Smith is vice president of human resources for TireHub. He most recently served as director of human resources of Goodyear’s company-owned outlets. Before that, Smith worked in human resources for various Goodyear subsidiaries, including Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems LLC and Off-Highway PBU. Before joining Goodyear, Smith was director of human resources for Delta Faucet Co.
Chris Robinson is director of sales for TireHub. His tire career began in 1980 with Star Rubber and Kelly Springfield Tire, and at Goodyear was retail channel director for North America and most recently served as director of wholesale distribution for Goodyear’s North American operations. He’s credited with helping Goodyear’s turnaround experience, customer segmentation, product life cycle management, pricing optimization and MAP inception.
Wade Foster is national field sales manager for TireHub. His 30-plus years in the tire industry started with Western Auto, where he worked in several retail positions. Then he moved to Continental Tire of the Americas LLC where he worked five years as an area manager, and then ultimately joined Bridgestone’s Tire Wholesale Warehouse (TWW), and most recently worked as region manager. David DeBord is senior legal counsel for TireHub. He held the same title at Goodyear, and there led the North American consumer division in corporate matters and supported the Americas subsidiary on antitrust and competition issues. He worked for Goodyear for more than six years following nine years as an antitrust associate with Jones Day.
For more information, visit www.tirehub.com.
