Matt Leeper, former vice president of sales for Sumitomo Rubber North America (SRNA), has joined Tire Distributors of Georgia (TDG) as its vice president of sales and vendor relations. Leeper said in his new role he’ll be responsible for helping manage the company’s sales team and consumer promotions as well as its go-to-market strategies and relationships with vendors.
“I’m excited to join the team at Tire Distributors of Georgia,” Leeper said. “With the company experiencing over 20% growth over the last four years in a row, I believe this organization has the brands, people and momentum to have a really bright future.”
Tire Distributors of Georgia, founded by John Plumstead in 2003, has four locations across the state of Georgia and is headquartered in Byron. John’s son, Sean Plumstead, currently runs the day-to-day business operations as the company’s vice president.
“We are extremely blessed and excited to have Matt Leeper join our team here at Tire Distributors of Georgia. Our decade-long relationship with Matt stems from dealings with Falken Tire, one of TDG’s valued vendor partners,” said Sean. “We believe Matt’s strategic skills and extensive experience in leading sales and marketing teams within the industry is what our company needs as we continue our double-digit growth trajectory.”
Leeper said working for a family-run business in the state of Georgia, not far from where he and his family reside, was appealing due to its growth in the state and with the Tire Alliance Group (TAG). He said his first initiatives with Tire Distributors of Georgia will be to add a business development manager as well as engage all accounts and revive new ones. He is also working to bring a new CRM to the business and improve the business’s processes for creating and managing promotional offers to dealers.
In reflecting on his time at SRNA, Leeper showed his appreciation for his time at the company, where he spent 25 years of his career.
“I had a great career there,” Leeper said. “When I started, the company was doing $50 million, and when I left, we had become a $1 billion-dollar company. I had the opportunity to grow with the company, which not a lot of people have the chance to do in their career.”
