Yokohama hires Jeff Barna as COO

Santa Ana, California – Yokohama Tire Corp has hired automotive industry veteran Jeff Barna to be its chief operating officer, responsible for sales, marketing and product planning.

Barna has held management, sales and logistics positions over the past 32 years at a number of companies, including Nilfisk-Advance Inc., an international company in the professional cleaning products and service industry; Exide Technologies, a global battery manufacturer; and Tenneco Automotive.

He will join Yokohama on 16 Jan and report to YTC President Shinichi Takimoto, who praised Barna's extensive experience in the auto aftermarket business, noting that he sold a range of products to many of the same companies that Yokohama sells to.

The COO position has been vacant since early 2016 when Takayuki Hamaya was named president of Yokohama Russia LLC He had been COO of YTC since 2012.

"Jeff will work closely with our team to strengthen Yokohama and make us more valuable to our business partners," Takimoto said. "His experience starting at the street level of the auto parts business, to broader areas of responsibility, and right up to the board rooms of multi-national companies is a perfect match for today's competitive business climate and our lean team."

YTC CEO Hideto Katsuragawa called the hiring of Barna "another strategic investment in the future of Yokohama Tire Corp. in the American market…."