After three years as president of Bridgestone Americas’s GCR Tires & Sales, the company’s commercial tire and service business, John Vasuta returns to Firestone Building Products (FSBP), promoted to Global Sales Leader effective Nov. 1.  

Prior to leading the GCR Tire & Service team, Vasuta spent nine years at FSBP in various management roles, including general counsel and vice president of administration, vice president of strategic planning and corporate development, and vice president and managing director of international operations.

“John has a proven track record of driving growth and a strong background in international operations and strategy,” said FSBP president Taylor Cole. “He is the right person to help us activate our customer-centric strategy around the world with increasing presence in all key global markets. This is something John started in his prior tenure with FSBP, and we are excited to welcome him back to the team.”

Replacing him at the helm of GCR Tires & Service also effective Nov. 1 is Damien Harmon who has been tapped as president of Bridgestone subsidiary. With the company since 2014, Harmon leaves his most recent role as chief operating officer (COO) of Bridgestone Retail Operations (BSRO), the tiremaker’s national chain of 2,200-plus tire and auto service center stores. Prior to that he was vice president of operations for BSRO.

“Damien has demonstrated an ability to drive consistency and standardization in store operations to help elevate enterprise profitability,” said Scott Damon, president, Commercial Group, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. “GCR represents a critical touchpoint with customers across all product groups in our Commercial tire business, and we look forward to Damien’s leadership in executing our vision of being one of the most trusted tire solutions providers in North America.”