Club 3633 Profile: Fardad Niknam - Tire Review Magazine

Club 3633 Profile: Fardad Niknam

When asked what he likes best about the industry, Fardad Niknam says he loves being part of people’s day-to-day life in a small way, developing tires that help keep people safe. In his 20 years working in tire industry, he continues to be driven by success – finding satisfaction when some of his wins are built upon a foundation of challenges.

Fardad Niknam, 43 Director of Segment Development at   Yokohama Tire Corp., Santa Ana, Calif.

When asked what he likes best about the industry, Fardad Niknam says he loves being part of people’s day-to-day life in a small way, developing tires that help keep people safe. In his 20 years working in tire industry, he continues to be driven by success – finding satisfaction when some of his wins are built upon a foundation of challenges.

“I remembered years ago when I took an idea to an innovation committee and my idea was rejected,” says Niknam. “I had worked on it for six months and being rejected in five minutes was tough. I went back to my desk visibly upset. My boss…went back to his office and brought me a piece of paper that read, ‘It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down. All that matters is that you get up one more time than you were knocked down.’ My idea was rejected three more times before it was finally accepted and incorporated into the product. And the same idea is still used in the tire today – and the concept was adopted by a lot of other tire companies.”

Being raised in a goal-oriented culture gave Niknam the fortitude and confidence to move forward, even when things didn’t go exactly as planned.

“I remember when I developed a product line and made a mistake on the size of the lettering on the sidewall in respect to the overall tire height,” he recalls. “Rather than scaling the letters according to tire section height, I kept the letter height fixed. When I saw the first tire out of the mold, I realized the mistake I made. It was a total of 52 sizes, and on eight of them the letters were too big. I thought my career was over. We decided to let the product go to market and not delay the launch. Six months after the launch, we received overwhelming positive feedback on the visibility of the name and tire size on those eight sizes. Later on, we saw our competitors increase their sidewall lettering. My mistake turned into the trend,” he laughs.

His advice: “Yes, it’s ok to make a mistake. It’s okay to fail. But it’s more important to learn from it and implement it into your future. This always led me to move forward with confidence. Of course, you need to be a little lucky as well.”

If you could meet anyone living or dead,
who would it be and why?

“Thomas Edison. I just have couple of questions to ask him.”

You May Also Like

Club 3633 nominations for 2024 are open

Club 3633 is an exclusive group of industry professionals that celebrates the next generation of innovators in the tire industry.

club3633-nominations-1400

Tire Review is searching for tire industry influencers – someone who is really changing things for the better, innovating and making strides in your company! Nominate them for our 2024 Class of Club 3633 here.

Club 3633 is an exclusive group of industry professionals that celebrates the next generation of innovators in the tire industry. The club takes its name from Charles Goodyear’s patent for the vulcanization of rubber, U.S. Patent 3633, which can be seen as a starting point for the modern tire industry. It is in recognition of his fierce determination and accomplishment that our Club 3633 takes its name.

Jack of All Trades Brandon Hulon Makes Mark in Tire Business

You’ll never hear our latest Club 3633 member say, “that’s not my job.”

3633 Headshot
Virginia Tire’s Julie Holmes Creates Opportunities for Upskilling Workforce

Julie said her upbringing instilled a limitless mindset and strong work ethic.

Where There’s a Will, There’s K&M Tire’s Dave Miller

A 27-year industry veteran, Dave serves as the director of marketing at K&M Tire, where he oversees all marketing initiatives, programs, events and trade shows.

dave miller
TIA’s Matt White: Saving Lives One Training at a Time

Matt White’s tire journey begins on the farm.

Matt white 3633

Other Posts

Yokohama to sponsor the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic Tailgate

The event, part of the Bassmaster Classic Expo, is March 21-24 in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma and Grand Lake.

Bass-stock-photo
Bill Ziegler, Ziegler Tire president, dies

Bill spent 48 years with Ziegler Tire, most recently as president.

Bill-Ziegler-600
SRNA promotes director of product planning for Falken PLT tires

With more than two decades of experience in the tire industry, TJ Johnson is now coming up on eight years with SRNA.

Tsuyoshi-Johnson-SRNA
Ascenso Tires North America finds new president

Thomas Clark brings with him a three-decade-long career, marked by progressive responsibilities at companies such as Michelin and Carlstar Group.

Ascenso-Thomas-Clark