The current Bridgestone Australia sales director Heath Barclay has been appointed as the successor to Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand managing director Stephen Roche, who is retiring from the company at the end of 2021.
Barclay started his long time industry career as a part-time tyre fitter at the Dannevirke Firestone Tyre store in the Manawatu-Whanganui region of New Zealand while finishing high school.
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, 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 & 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, Barclay says he 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 responsibility of leading Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand through this period,” Barclay says.
“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.”
Roche is retiring 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,” Barclay says.
According to Roche, Barclay is the ideal candidate to see the business through the next phase of its evolution towards a mobility solutions provider.
Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand is part of the Bridgestone China and Asia Pacific (BSCAP) region structure, and in the managing director role Barclay will report to COO Asia Pacific, Agustin Pedroni.
Pedroni thanked Roche for his contribution to the business.
“BSCAP would like to thank Stephen for his relentless drive in leading the ANZ team towards delivering the financial, operational and strategic targets that were established, and we wish him well in his retirement,” Pedroni says.
“Heath is a committed and trusted professional, and the right leader to take BSANZ into the next level of its evolution,” he says.
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