Yokohama Tire Corp. (YTC) has named veteran tire executive Bruce Besancon the company’s senior director of OTR sales.

“Our OTR team is already one of the best in the industry, and it just got a lot stronger with the addition of Bruce,” said Jeff Barna, YTC’s chief operating officer. “He will be a major asset for us because he has nearly 30 years of OTR tire experience – counting the 20+ with Michelin – and has expertise in several areas, including product development and marketing.”

In his new role Besancon will be responsible for OTR sales and will report to Barna.

Besancon replaces longtime OTR Sales Director Tim Easter, who is returning to the field to work more closely with customers, Yokohama said.

Besancon is the former vice president of marketing at Alliance Tire Americas (ATA), where he was instrumental in developing ATA brands such as Alliance, Galaxy and Primex for ag, construction and forestry segments.

Prior to ATA, Besancon held various OTR positions at Michelin. Besancon has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Yokohama Rubber Co. acquired Alliance Tire Group, ATA’s parent company, on July 1, 2016.