Bridgestone Middle East & Africa has appointed Stefano Sanchini as the new sales director to help spearhead the organisation’s continued growth across the region.
Stefano Sanchini has more than 18 years of experience in the automotive industry, 14 of which were gained in the tyre industry.
Having five years of experience in the Middle East and Africa region, Sanchini manages the sales activities for Bridgestone’s Middle East and Africa’s branches, commercial channel development, technical services (commercial and consumer) and retail divisions.
During his career, Sanchini has worked across various functions, starting with production and then moving on to supply chain, IT, marketing, and finally, sales.
Sanchini said: “A combination of tough road conditions and a passion for driving has seen high demand for commercial and high-performance tyres in the region, along with convenient, affordable maintenance.
“With this at top of mind, expanding networks of first stop service centres are currently being rolled out in the Middle East. My goal is to make sure our branches and partners can satisfy the growing demand for quality tyres, and keep the region’s motorists on the move.”
Supporting Sanchini with the task of increasing profitability for Bridgestone in MEA is Berna Akinci who was appointed in 2017 as the marketing general manager following eight years at BriSA Turkey, a joint venture between Bridgestone and the Sabanci Group.
In her role, Akinci is responsible for Bridgestone’s product management, market intelligence, channel management, communication, and business planning in the MEA markets.
Akinci carries over experience in these areas from her time at BriSA Turkey, where she rose to the position of commercial products marketing manager.
She was a key member of the management team driving growth within BriSA through strategic initiatives including the development of a second factory, retail expansion, the launch of a non-tyre product portfolio, and the creation of a customer value proposition, among other initiatives.
