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Bridgestone Americas Press Center

July 30, 2020 Nashville, Tenn.

Bridgestone Americas Announces New President of Consumer Replacement Tire Sales and Marketing for U.S. and Canada

cielo and seidel headshots
  • Mirella Cielo joins Bridgestone Americas as president, consumer replacement tire sales and marketing, U.S. and Canada, effective Sept. 1.
  • Cielo backfills Erik Seidel who was named senior vice president, corporate development, Bridgestone Americas, effective immediately.
  • Leadership changes will strengthen the company’s core tire business and support Bridgestone’s evolution to become a sustainable mobility and advanced solutions company.

Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) today announced leadership changes in support of the company’s ongoing evolution to become a sustainable mobility and advanced solutions company. Mirella Cielo will join Bridgestone Americas as president, consumer replacement tire sales and marketing, U.S. and Canada, effective Sept. 1. She backfills Erik Seidel, who has been named to a new role overseeing corporate development and M&A for Bridgestone Americas, effective immediately.

“Mirella is a dynamic leader with tremendous expertise and experience in the tire industry,” said Paolo Ferrari, CEO & president, Bridgestone Americas. “She is very familiar with our customers and strategies making her well positioned to build on Erik’s success as president of the consumer replacement business. I am excited to welcome Mirella to the Bridgestone Americas team and to have Erik in this new corporate development role overseeing our M&A efforts.”

As president of consumer replacement tire sales and marketing, Cielo will be responsible for setting the sales and marketing strategy for the consumer replacement tire business in the U.S. and Canada with a focus on pursuing new business opportunities, enhancing revenue and increasing brand equity with consumers. She also will be responsible for cultivating customer relationships that accelerate sales growth for the company’s core tire business.

Cielo joins Bridgestone Americas from Bridgestone Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMIA), where she most recently served as vice president of the consumer replacement business. While in Europe, she has been instrumental in delivering the consumer replacement strategy through a relentless focus on continuous and sustainable growth. Cielo has laid the foundation for future success by delivering enhanced pricing and channel management, improved demand planning and several successful product launches, in addition to employing a customer-centric focus. Prior to joining Bridgestone EMIA in 2017, she spent over a decade with Pirelli Tire in various marketing and management roles of increasing responsibility across North America and in Europe.

As senior vice president of corporate development, Seidel will lead a newly formed corporate development team to enhance and strengthen the company’s M&A capability and capacity. He will partner with leaders across the organization to accelerate the delivery of the company’s tire and mobility solutions strategies through acquisitions, strategic partnerships and joint venture opportunities. Seidel also will establish and oversee the Bridgestone Americas Investment Committee and lead the sourcing, modeling, negotiating and closing of M&A deals in partnership with the business.

Seidel joined Bridgestone in 2013 as vice president of consumer marketing and quickly transitioned into leading the replacement tire business. He has played a key role in the delivery of some of the company’s most important consumer tire initiatives, including the revolutionary DriveGuard tire launch, the acquisition of the TireConnect e-commerce platform and the successful launch of the company’s TireHub joint venture in tire distribution. Prior to Bridgestone, Seidel spent more than a decade at Kimberly-Clark Corporation in marketing and general management roles of increasing responsibility. 

Mirella is a dynamic leader with tremendous expertise and experience in the tire industry, She is very familiar with our customers and strategies making her well positioned to build on Erik’s success as president of the consumer replacement business.
Paolo Ferrari, CEO & president, Bridgestone Americas
Paolo Ferrari CEO & president, Bridgestone Americas Click to Tweet

About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.:

Nashville, Tennessee-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) is the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company. BSAM and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. BSAM also is engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produces air springs, roofing materials and industrial fibers and textiles. BSAM also operates the world’s largest chain of automotive tire and service centers. Guided by its global corporate social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve, the company is dedicated to improving the way people live, work, move and play in all of the communities it calls home. 

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