Only David Stevens knows if he was prepared to step in as the new managing director of the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau, a post he took over last November following the unpopular dismissal of the well-known and respected Harvey Brodsky. Certainly the 42-year-old should not have been the focus of those unhappy about the switch. In each of those industries, Stevens said at the time of his appointment, “I came in with zero knowledge and was able to quickly get up to speed and become successful in driving revenue growth, customer growth and expanding partnerships.” In his first extensive North American interview, Stevens outlines his plans – and recent successes – for TRIB and its future.
Stevens’ experience has come from outside the tire industry; he has roughly 20 years of public relations, marketing, sales and customer service experience with telecommunications, Internet service, credit card and financial services firms, and spent the past eight years working overseas, first in Japan and then in the U.K., managing international businesses.
With no tire industry experience, what do you feel you bring to the table that will benefit TRIB, its members and the retreading community?
Regardless of the industry, sometimes it’s helpful to have a fresh perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing that industry. Each time I’ve moved into a new industry, I’ve been able to bring much of what I’ve learned in previous roles and apply that knowledge to the new industry in a different way. Much of my professional career has been spent in marketing and partnership development, with a great deal of that time spent in the online industry with AOL and E*Trade. I plan to apply that experience in redesigning the TRIB website, enhancing our overall online presence through the use of social media and mobile tools to reach our members through various channels, improve our member and prospect communications so that there is a focus on quality of information over quantity of information, and improve our two-way communication to truly understand what our users and members want to see from TRIB. Lastly, I bring a strong background in international business to the table and hope to leverage that for continued growth for TRIB outside the U.S. and enhance commerce opportunities among our members, regardless of where they operate.
The TRIB board remarked how well prepared you were for your interview with them when it was considering a new MD. What did you outline as your vision for TRIB, and what is your timeline for accomplishing these items?
A great deal of work went into my presentation to the TRIB board and it’s hard to distill the short- and long-term goals I outlined in that presentation, but let me focus on a few of the key areas: 1) Defend and Promote – continue to defend and promote the retread and repair industries but also take a more proactive approach in reaching the right audiences with the most relevant message about the benefits of our industry; 2) Be Accountable – to the board and to our members with the right tools in place to manage our membership base and the financial aspects of running an association; 3) Improve Functionality – redesign all aspects of our communication tools (website, e-mail marketing, newsletters, etc.) to make them more user-friendly and relevant for the various audiences we serve, including ensuring that all information is current and easy to locate; 4) Increase Value – this encompasses a lot of work, but it boils down to a member of TRIB looking back at the cost of their membership dues with TRIB and being able to say comfortably, “That was money well-spent.” You’ll see more activities in this area as we move through the year. Finally, 5) Revenue Growth and Diversification – I discussed several ideas for us to grow and diversify TRIB’s revenue base, but those aren’t ready for public consumption just yet.
What have your heard from members and retreaders so far about what they need/expect from TRIB?
As I continue to meet and talk to people everyday, I hear more about their needs, and as part of the new website, we’ll have an easy way to collect feedback from our members on what they’d like to see from TRIB. Some of the major themes that have come across so far are TRIB providing a neutral industry view of retreaders and repairers for our members that may be trying to work with customers on buying retreaded tires and repair materials; continuing to respond to negative articles about retreaded tires, as well as positively promoting our industry; providing relevant, timely and quality information that is more technical in nature and helps our members perform their jobs better; and finding more ways to continue to sell the economic benefits of retreaded tires.
What are the most pressing things the TRIB board wants you to accomplish, and how are you tackling those issues?
There were some pressing operational and financial issues that needed to be addressed upon me joining and most of those have been successfully completed. The rest of the activities the board wants me to focus on are a part of my answer about the vision I presented at my final interview and the board’s agreement that was the right direction to take.
How much time have you been able to spend with retreaders, tire dealers or end-users, and what is your impression of the industry?
I was incredibly fortunate to go on the road with Marvin Bozarth and visit a number of retread plants, suppliers and dealers and have Marvin and our hosts share with me their vast amount of knowledge. I’ve been impressed by several things in our industry: the longevity of many in the industry, the close-knit nature of the industry, the willingness of many to bend over backwards in helping the “new guy” get up to speed, the passion they have for their businesses and the amount of change many have dealt with over the years.
From your discussions with retreaders and others, what do you see are the most pressing issues today’s retreaders face?
Many of the items I’ve discussed with retreaders have to do with the massive increases we’ve seen in the price of rubber, the limited amount of casings available to them, potential equipment shortages and lead-times, and testing and preparation for SmartWay.
What are your plans for educating motorists about retreads, and fleets about the benefits of using retreads?
I think the redesigned website and many of our online efforts will help to continue to educate motorists about retreads, and there’s a stronger environmental message we can push for that audience. On the fleet side, it’s more about the economics, and I’m working on some unique ways to quickly and easily demonstrate those economic benefits through a variety of online tools.
A few years ago, TRIB changed its name and adjusted its focus to encompass tire repairing, yet it never seemed to do anything in that arena. Where is TRIB relative to the repair segment, and what are you planning to do on repair training and dealer/fleet education?
That’s definitely another area of focus for me and though we do currently represent the tire repair industry through our website FAQs, I plan to do more. We’ll publish more information on recommended practices, continue to distribute the “Flat Tire, Now What?” brochure, and create additional documents to be distributed regarding repair practices, such as updated technical bulletins from Tread Rubber Manufacturers’ Group on shoulder injury repairs and the Technology & Maintenance Council discussions regarding DOT codes for tire repair, as two examples.
Do you see TRIB’s role more oriented to the general public or within the tire industry, and why?
I think we can and should be oriented towards both, but we just need to be clearer on our website and in our other materials about which audience we’re addressing and ensure it’s painless for each audience to find what they are looking for when they come to TRIB.
In the past, TRIB spent a lot of time cultivating foreign membership. Is TRIB going to continue as an international organization, and how does that benefit the industry? And how does a TRIB membership benefit an overseas company?
We will continue as an international organization and longer-term, I plan to do more work to develop this area for TRIB. But even now, our members in the U.S. and abroad benefit from being able to share information about best practices, share answers about tricky technical problems, and transact with each other through our “Casing, Supplier and Export Memos,” which many of our international members use on a weekly basis.
The “green” movement certainly dominates the tire industry, both in terms of improving fuel economy and reducing the use of raw materials. What do you see as TRIB’s role in that, and what do you feel it can truly bring to the “green” table?
When I looked at this industry during my interview process, I felt there was a great story to tell about our environmental credentials and that there were some real opportunities to improve in that area. I’ve been exploring some ideas with an old colleague who helps businesses and industries focus on their “green” credentials and hopefully I can execute on some of those ideas in the coming months. As the information arm of the industry, TRIB needs to find creative ways to present retreading and repair as green businesses. I’ve said it before, but I’d love to see trucks and buses rolling down the roads with statements plastered on the side, “This vehicle is running on environmentally friendly retreaded tires,” much the same way buses around the country state they are running on clean natural gas.
What is TRIB’s current relationship to TIA, and do you see that evolving or changing in the coming years?
TIA is, and has always been, a strong and supportive partner for TRIB and I don’t see that changing in any way in the coming years.
Where will TRIB’s headquarters end up – California or Washington?
As of March 1, TRIB has been located in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, which also brings the added benefit of being close to many of our other association colleagues, such as TIA, RMA and ATA, to name a few.
