ERJ Appointments Tracker - 2026

Regular update of senior appointments across the global rubber & tire manufacturing industry:

MARCH

Linglong Tire has appointed Zhou Lingkun as president following the resignation of Wang Feng, who stepped down to “optimise the company’s governance structure,” the group said in a 17 March filing. Read more

VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery has appointed Sandra Fuellsack as chair, replacing Ulrich Reifenhauser, who steps down after more than three decades on the board. Rainer Zimmermann is also retiring, with Bernd Reifenhauser and Lukas Zimmermann joining the executive board. The association said the changes mark a “new generation on the board,” with both long-standing members credited for shaping its work over decades.

German distributor Biesterfeld has named Joe Read as managing director for the UK and Ireland, effective 1 March, succeeding Guy Payne, who will move into an advisory role. Read brings experience from companies including DuPont, Delrin and EMS-Chemie.

Pirelli has appointed Dario Marrafuschi to lead its motorsport business from 1 March, succeeding Mario Isola, who will support the transition until July. Marrafuschi, who joined the group in 2008, has worked in Formula 1 research and development and more recently led road product development.

February

Dr. Gerard Nijman, the expert in tire and rubber extrusion at KraussMaffei Extrusion has been recognised with the prestigious Fernley H. Banbury Award by the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Nijman, said KM, has played a “decisive role in driving forward important advances in rubber rheology, in the development of new mixing and multiplex extrusion technologies, and in the modern production and processing of silica compounds for the tire industry.” His work, it added, has strengthened the link between scientific research and industrial practice and set standards for rubber processing.

Covestro AG has announced that its CEO Dr Markus Steilemann will not be available for a further term of office upon the expiry of his current term, which runs until end of May 2028. The German supplier said it will initiate an orderly succession process for the position of CEO "in due course." 

Hankook Tyre UK has appointed Ho Seok Chea as managing director, effective 1 Jan, based at the company’s headquarters in Daventry. Chea joins the role with international experience across Europe and the US, most recently serving in The Netherlands. He joined Hankook in South Korea in 2005 and brings his “strategic expertise” in sales and marketing to the new position to strengthen the brand in the UK market.

Kraton Corp. has appointed Sangwoo Ryu as chief executive officer. Ryu currently serves as CEO of Cariflex Pte Ltd, a Kraton spin-off under DL Chemical. He previously held the role of chief financial officer at Cariflex before becoming its CEO in April 2025.

ContiTech has appointed Jim Hill as VP of distribution for its Industrial Solutions Americas business area. Hill, previously VP marketing and strategy within the same division, will oversee distribution strategy across the region and focus on strengthening relationships with customers and distribution partners. He joined ContiTech in 2015 and previously held management roles at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Goodyear Engineered Products, now part of ContiTech.

Russian tire maker JSC Cordiant has appointed Dmitry Gorbachev as CEO, effective 8 Feb. Gorbachev succeeds Vadim Volodin, who led the tire holding since 2016 and is leaving to pursue personal projects. Gorbachev previously served as deputy CEO for strategic development and business systems and has more than 15 years’ experience in operational efficiency and lean production. He joined Cordiant in December 2024. Cordiant operates plants in Yaroslavl (3.6 million tires/year), Omsk (5.5 million), Kaluga Region (3.2 million, former Continental assets) and Ulyanovsk (2.4 million, former Bridgestone assets).

Linglong Tire has appointed Sherif Degheidy as director speciality tires MEA effective 9 Feb. The newly created role will see Degheidy oversee strategy and sales for the division across the Middle East and Africa, reporting to Jeffrey Hughes, director EMEA. Degheidy joins from Goodyear, where he led the speciality tires business across the Middle East and East and West Africa for 12 years, most recently as OTR sales manager. He previously worked at KAL Tire, managing tire operations at a gold mine in Egypt.

Luxembourg-based graphene nanotube producer OCSiAl has appointed Antigone Loudiadis as a director following “a substantial investment” by an entity she owns at the end of 2025. Loudiadis founded and led UK pension insurer Rothesay Life and was previously a partner at Goldman Sachs International and co-head of its European investment banking division. She has 30 years’ experience in structured finance and M&A. OCSiAl said the appointment comes as it accelerates industrial scale-up and prepares for larger long-term investments, positioning the company to expand in sectors including tires, coatings, EVs, data centres, AI, robotics and aerospace.

January

Toyo Tire has expanded Tatsuo Mitsuhata’s role to include to president and CEO of Toyo Tire North America OE Sales LLC, in addition to his current position as senior corporate officer, chairman and CEO of Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc. The appointment will take effect 1 Feb, said Toyo.

Forbo Holding has appointed Heinz Hoessli as CFO of the Forbo Group, effective 1 July. Hoessli, currently CFO of Interroll Group, will succeed Peter Germann, who has served as interim CFO since Oct 2025 and will retire following the handover. Prior to Interroll, Hoessli spent 21 years at Bühler Group, where he held financial roles including CFO/VP advanced materials. Hoessli will also join Forbo’s executive board.

Michelin has appointed Benedicte de Bonnechose as CFO effective 1 June, succeeding Yves Chapot in this role. A member of the Michelin executive committee since 1 Jan 2021, De Bonnechose currently supervises the 'urban' and 'long-distance transportation' business lines, as well as the European region. She joined Michelin in April 2019 as deputy group CFO, having previously worked at Deloitte and Lafarge Group in financial roles.

Ulrich Zimmer has been named as the chief operating officer of ErlingKlinger, succeeding Reiner Drews who is departing the firm 31 March. As COO, Zimmer will oversee the “lightweighting/elastomer technology”, “metal sealing systems & drivetrain components”, and “metal forming & assembly technology” business units. These will be in addition to corporate units production, quality, purchasing, real estate, and supply chain management as well as the area of innovation and R&D. Zimmer is due to take up his new post in the course of 2026. Zimmer currently holds the position of SVP R&D at Traton SE within the Volkswagen Group and is responsible for Traton's German R&D sites in his role as managing director.

Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd (DATL) has appointed Lee Timbrell as chief commercial officer, tasking him with leading global commercial strategy, sales, business development and customer engagement. Timbrell joins from Safran Actuation Systems, where he served as senior director, aftermarket services, with responsibility for sales and profitability across nine global MRO sites. Dunlop said the appointment follows strong financial performance in 2025 and the completion of a $93m senior secured bond offering, which it said "strengthens our balance sheet and provides added flexibility to support our future growth strategy."

Greene Tweed has named Thomas Castle as chief operating officer, with responsibility for global operations spanning manufacturing, supply chain, quality, engineering, procurement and safety. Castle has over three decades of operations leadership experience, most recently serving as COO of components maker CMI Group. He previously held senior operations roles at TPI Composites, Honeywell Aerospace and GE Aviation. Greene Tweed said the appointment supports its global expansion plans and focus on operational excellence as demand increases across key end markets.

Pirelli has appointed Davide Dellorenzi as representative director and president of Pirelli Japan, effective 1 Jan. He succeeds Filippo Cibralio, who has been named chief commercial officer of Pirelli APAC. Dellorenzi joined Pirelli in 2018 and was appointed head of global commercial motorsport in the same year.

Scandinavian Enviro Systems has appointed Fredrik Aaben as chief executive officer, effective 16 Jan, following the departure of Fredrik Emilson by mutual agreement. Emilson will remain with the company as senior advisor during a transition period. Aaben joined Enviro as chief financial officer in November 2024. Prior to that, he was head of corporate finance at Volvo Cars. Alongside the CEO change, Maria Ljungstrand has been appointed CFO. Ljungstrand joined Enviro in April 2024 and previously held business controller roles at Danone and Mondelez International.

David Cichocki is to join Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. as managing director, Americas and chief sales officer, Americas Consumer, effective?19 Jan, the tire maker has announced. Cichocki has around 30 years of commercial leadership experience across industrial and consumer goods brands. Most recently, he was senior vice president, US sales, at Whirlpool Corp., leading retail, builder/contract and direct-to-consumer channels. He previously spent more than two decades at Kraft Foods/Nabisco.

Oftringen, Switzerland-based Omya Performance Polymer Distribution has appointed Sara Ghione as president for its rubber polymers and additives unit, effective 1 Jan. Ghione has over 20 years’ experience in the chemical distribution industry, most recently as business director for polymers and rubber EMEA for Brenntag. She is based in Oftringen, reporting to CEO Carsten Harms, added the 15 Jan announcement.

Kraton Corp. has announced that its chief executive Marcello Boldrini has left the company. In an undated press release, Kraton said the leadership of the company will be assumed by business presidents Prakash Kolluri (polymers) and Minco van Breevoort (pine chemicals), who will report directly to Kraton’s board of directors. Kraton did not provide further details on Boldrini’s departure or whether a permanent successor will be appointed.

French distributor Safic-Alcan has appointed Victor Zubb as VP Americas. The newly created senior role reflects how “the Americas become an increasingly strategic pillar” of the company's global business. Safic-Alcan has recently expanded in Latin America and North America. In 2022, it acquired Brazilian companies Sarfam and Proquimil, and since purchased Anders Quimica: expanding its footprint into Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

Michelin has announced that Maria Paz Robina will step down as country director and president of Michelin Spain Portugal in April 2026 after 38 years with the group, to be succeeded by Cesar Monux. Robina has led Michelin Spain Portugal since 2019 and previously held senior roles across manufacturing, quality and human resources, including managing plants in Aranda de Duero and Vitoria Gasteiz. Monux, who joined Michelin in 2002, has managed several group plants in Spain and Brazil and is currently part of the European manufacturing management team based in Clermont-Ferrand.

Synthomer plc said independent non-executive directors Ian Tyler and Roberto Gualdoni have stepped down from the board, as previously announced. Janet Ashdown has been appointed senior independent director, succeeding Tyler, while Jonathan Silver has been named chair of the audit committee.

Semperit AG has extended the term of chief industrial officer Gerfried Eder ahead of schedule for a period of three years until 30 June 2029. Eder has been with the company since 2000, has Semperit’s CIO since July 2023. In this role, he is responsible for the Industrial Applications (SIA) division, which includes hydraulic and industrial hoses and profiles. His area of responsibility also covers commercial excellence, R&D, supply chain, procurement as well as occupational safety, environment, and quality.

US off-road tire and wheel maker Titan International announced a management reshuffle involving the new position ‘chief transformation officer’, to be filled by former finance chief David Martin. Martin will “lead enterprise-wide transformation” and will oversee alignment of information technology, including acceleration of AI adoption, along with human capital and risk management functions and initiatives. Tony Eheli, formerly VP and chief accounting officer, replaces Martin as SVP and CFO. Eheli will be succeeded by Jim Pach, formerly corporate controller.

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