New MD for Bridgestone in 2022

Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand will see a management change in 2022 with the appointment of Heath Barclay as Managing Director from January, having started his career in the industry as a part-time tyre fitter in regional New Zealand while finishing high school.

Mr Barclay currently holds the role of Sales Director at Bridgestone Australia having held numerous positions in both New Zealand and Australia originally as a part-time fitter at his local Firestone store in Dannevirke.

In 1994, he joined full time as the store's manager and attracted the attention of Bridgestone NZ (then Firestone) and was offered a Management Cadet role in 1996.

Within Bridgestone NZ, Mr Barclay went on to climb through the ranks working in roles within marketing, consumer business and general management. In 2013 he relocated to Australia as the Group General Manager of Retail and Marketing, then serving as Associate Director Sales and Marketing and as a new member of the board, before becoming Sales Director in 2017.

As Bridgestone continues its evolution towards its global mid-to-long-term business strategy announced in 2020, Mr Barclay is enthusiastic to lead the company through what will be a significant era.

"Last year the global strategy for Bridgestone 3.0 was announced, and since then we have been laying the foundations to execute this strategy, and I'm honoured to be presented with the opportunity and responsibility of leading Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand through this period," Mr Barclay said.

"It's no secret that I'm passionate about this company having spent half my life working for Bridgestone. As a business, we have significant plans, and we have a great team to bring them to life and realise our mid-long-term strategy."

Incumbent Managing Director, Stephen Roche, will retire at the end of the year following a three-and-a-half-year tenure at the tyre company. His time in the role saw the acquisition and integration of Lube Mobile into the Bridgestone business, the launch of the global strategy and steering the business through the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Stephen Roche played a significant role in laying the foundations for Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand's future over the past few years and personally, I've enjoyed working with him immensely. He's left big shoes to fill, and I'm looking forward to this challenge," Mr Barclay added.