Bridgestone Appoints Sanchini as Sales Director for MEA

Bridgestone has appointed Stefano Sanchini as the sales director for the Middle East & Africa region. He has been with Bridgestone from August 2017 and has joined the company after a stint at Goodyear, where he was the director of sales for the Middle East and Africa regions. Sanchi is a veteran of the automotive industry, with 18 years of experience under his belt, of which 14 were spent in the tire industry.

Prior to joining Bridgestone, Sanchini had spent five years with Goodyear in various sales roles. He has also worked for Pirelli in a number of positions in the period from 1999 to 2012.

In his role as the Sales Director for Bridgestone in the Middle East and Africa regions, he is tasked with managing the tire manufacturer’s sales activities for the branches in the Middle East and Africa, development of commercial channels, Technical Services (Commercial and Consumer) and Retail divisions. He is expected to effectively leverage his experience lasting five years in the MEA markets and his expertise gained through production, supply chain, IT, marketing and sales roles.

Commenting on his appointment Sanchini said that the MEA region has automotive brands with a unique set of opportunities and there is a high demand for commercial and high-performance tires in the region, as well as convenient and affordable maintenance thanks to the passion that people in the region have for driving and tough road and weather conditions. This is why Bridgestone is currently focusing on expanding networks of First Stop service centers in the Middle East. Sanchini’s goal is to ensure that Bridgestone’s branches and partners can cater to the growing demand for quality tyres and thus keep the motorists in the region on the move.

Berna Akinci, who was appointed as the general manager of marketing for Bridgestone will be supporting Sanchini with the task of Bridgestone’s profitability in the region. Prior to joining Bridgestone, Akinci worked for Brisa, Bridgestone’s Turkish joint venture operation with the Sabanci Group. As part of her role, Akinci will deal with Bridgestone’s product management, market intelligence, channel management, communication, and business planning in the MEA markets. Akinci has gained expertise in these areas during her stint at Brisa Turkey, where she had worked her way upto the role of commercial products marketing manager.

Akinci commented that this is a very exciting time for Bridgestone as the company has recently launched some fantastic product innovations and has also announced ambitious plans to expand its retail offering in order to provide motorists with the tires they need for every road condition.

Akinci concluded, “We know the automotive market is fiercely competitive here, which makes the department’s role in communicating the benefits of Bridgestone’s products and services all the more important. Ultimately, we want motorists to gain the most from their vehicle, and tires have an integral part to play in this.”