Paolo Ferrari will become president, CEO and COO of Bridgestone Americas Inc. on Jan. 15, 2020, succeeding Gordon Knapp.
Knapp will transition out of his roles of vice chair and executive officer of Bridgestone Corp. and president, CEO and COO of Bridgestone Americas. He will serve as a strategic advisor to the company until March 31, 2020, when he will retire. He has served as president and CEO of Bridgestone Americas since 2016.
Ferrari is currently executive vice president, executive officer and global digital strategic officer of Bridgestone Corp., and board member, CEO and president of Bridgestone Europe NV/SA (Bridgestone EMIA), and chairman of the Bridgestone Americas board.
On Jan. 15, when Ferrari succeeds Knapp, Masaaki Tsuya will become chairman of the Bridgestone Americas board. Tsuya is currently the chairman, CEO and representative executive officer of Bridgestone Corp.
Ferrari’s successor as president and CEO of Bridgestone EMIA is Laurent Dartoux. He is currently vice president and officer of Bridgestone Corp. and board member, chief strategy and marketing officer and COO of Bridgestone EMIA. Dartoux has also been promoted to vice president and senior officer of Bridgestone Corp., effective Jan. 1, 2020.
Emilio Tiberio has been named COO of Bridgestone EMIA, succeeding Dartoux, effective Jan. 15, 2020. Tiberio is also vice president and officer of Bridgestone Corp. and chief technology officer of Bridgestone EMIA.
Knapp joined Bridgestone Americas in 2013 as president, integrated consumer tire, U.S. and Canada. He was promoted to vice president and officer of Bridgestone Corp. and COO of Bridgestone Americas. in 2014. Prior to joining the company, Knapp spent his career - both in the U.S. and internationally - in the consumer products area leading the operations of many of the world's foremost brands. Knapp served as president, family care North Atlantic, consumer tissue division for Kimberly-Clark. He also held leadership positions in the consumer products businesses for Pfizer Inc. and for Warner-Lambert Inc.
Paolo Ferrari began his executive career at luxury brand Zegna in New York in 1994, gaining experience in sales, marketing and retail. Over the following years, he built his expertise in general management, technology and finance and M&A at companies such as Credit Suisse First Boston in London and Telecom Italia (TIM) Group in Italy, Germany and France, where he also managed assets in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Ferrari's experience in automotive, tires and mobility began in 2012, when he was appointed chairman and CEO of Pirelli North America and later CEO of Pirelli Latin America. He joined Bridgestone in 2016 and has served in his current role as CEO of Bridgestone EMEA since 2016. Having lived and worked in three continents over the last 25 years, Ferrari is fluent in Italian, English and French.
