Goodyear Dunlop boss in charge at Aliapur

Lyon, France – Mark Thys has started his two-year presidency of Aliapur, taking over from Serge Bonnel, the managing director of Continental France, the French used tire recovery company has announced.

Thys has been the managing director of Goodyear Dunlop Tires France since October 2014 and, as such, a member of Aliapur’s board of directors, said the company's 14 June announcement.

He worked for Arthur Andersen (Accenture) as a consultant before joining Goodyear’s finance department in 1997, where he had several positions including financial director for the consumer Europe tyre division.

From 2007 to 2012, Thys was director of “strategy and business transformation” for Goodyear Dunlop EMEA. In 2012, he joined Goodyear Benelux as commercial director, before being appointed managing director in 2013.

Thys is a graduate in commercial engineering from the University of Leuven, Belgium, and also has an MBA in marketing.

In its statement, Aliapur said Thys was “aware of the key issues facing his presidency, primarily the redistribution of recycling methods.”

The new president formally started his role on 11 May, said Aliapur's statement. Former president Bonnel, it added, has remained a member of its board of directors.

Aliapur is the leader company in recovering used tyres in France. Its founding members – and principle customers – are Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop Goodyear, Kléber, Michelin and Pirelli.

The founding manufacturers make up approximately 70 percent of the annual yearly circulation of used tires.

Since December 2003, Aliapur has been chosen by more than 300 producers to collect and recover the used tires they are bringing on to the market in France.