Bridgestone Americas, Inc. has announced a shift in its senior leadership structure, effective Sept. 16.
These changes are in conjunction with and complementary to the global leadership changes recently announced by its parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, and are part of a broader succession platform designed to cultivate global leaders throughout the enterprise, Bridgestone Americas said.
In the new structure, sales of all tire-led businesses across the Americas region, including the company’s large integrated consumer and commercial tire businesses, will be aligned under TJ Higgins, who has been named group president of Americas tire business for Bridgestone Americas, a new role. Higgins joined the company as president of the consumer integrated tire division for the U.S. & Canada for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), in 2014. He previously served in senior leadership roles across a number of consumer brands, including divisions of Pfizer and Merck. Higgins earned his bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University and his MBA from Harvard University.
Additionally, Scott Damon has been named group president of operations for Bridgestone Americas. This new role is designed to create a greater focus on the company’s end-to-end supply chain capabilities and includes some of the previous responsibilities of the chief operating officer (COO) role, which has been redefined, Bridgestone Americas said. Damon will have responsibility for the company’s operational functions, including information technology (IT), procurement and strategic sourcing, logistics and supply chain and manufacturing. Damon previously served as president of the commercial group, U.S. & Canada for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO). He has held a variety of leadership roles of increasing responsibility throughout his 23-year Bridgestone career. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University and his MBA from Frostburg State University.
The company has also created a new senior leadership role fully dedicated to managing the significant portfolio of digital transformation investments in infrastructure and growth platforms, the largest in the company’s history, Bridgestone Americas said. Bill Thompson will serve in this capacity as executive vice president of business transformation for Bridgestone Americas. Thompson previously served as COO of Bridgestone Americas from 2016-2019. He has spent more than 23 years with the company in several leadership roles across the company’s diverse portfolio, including chief financial officer. Thompson earned his bachelor’s degree from State University of New York Stony Brook and his master’s degree in finance from Georgia State University.
