Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations Names Chief Marketing Officer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 6, 2011) - Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) announced today that Philip Dobbs has been named to a key new position in the Consumer Tire Business leadership team: Chief Marketing Officer, U.S. & Canada Consumer Tire, BATO. This position is effective today.

“We have been searching for a candidate who brings a breadth of targeted experiences while at the same time is a great fit with our overall strategy, operations and consumer team,” said Larry Magee, President, U.S. and Canada Consumer Tire, BATO. “Philip’s career to date in marketing and management is nothing short of impressive, having had a hand in promoting, branding and advertising some of America’s most well-known consumer brands and products, including TruGreen, Sealy, Cadbury, Heinz, Kraft and Fruit of the Loom. His achievements in marketing and management are in addition to the leadership skills he demonstrated during his service as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Philip will bring a wealth of experience as he becomes the first person to serve in this new role at Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations,” Magee said.

Dobbs will lead the development and implementation of an integrated marketing strategy across the Consumer Tire Business, and ensure that the strategy is consistent with the company’s brand image and promise. He will manage the full set of marketing activities for the Consumer Tire Business through well-defined, centralized marketing resources and clear points of connection with other marketing resources dedicated to each key channel.

“I’m honored to join the almost 50,000 Bridgestone Americas teammates across the Americas in their efforts to help this great company become the clear leader in its industries,” Dobbs said. “This company’s brands and products have been household names for decades, touching areas of American culture from radio to racing and from streets to sports. I’m excited to be a part of where we go from here.”

Dobbs was most recently Chief Marketing Officer at TruGreen, a national leader in commercial and residential lawn and land care and part of the ServiceMaster Company; he served in that capacity since 2009. In this role he led all branding, advertising and customer acquisition activities. He also had a lead role in long-term strategic planning and business growth efforts as well as a comprehensive brand re-launch for the TruGreen brand. Before that, he spent five years at Sealy Inc. as the Senior Vice President, Marketing and Merchandising. During this time, he led the marketing and merchandising team with responsibility for all product and marketing initiatives and was also a member of the executive team that successfully completed an Initial Public Offering in April 2006.

Previously, Dobbs was the Senior Vice President, Marketing, for Cadbury-Schweppes, leading a 70-member, multi-functional team of marketing, market research and business forecasting professionals. As Managing Director, Heinz Pet Food, at H.J. Heinz, Philip had P&L responsibility for the $750 million Pet Food division with a broad portfolio of six brands, substantial private label business and a 90-member, multi-functional team of marketing, forecasting, finance, and research and development professionals. Before that, he spent four years in positions of increasing responsibility at Fruit of the Loom, rising to Senior Vice President, Marketing, Packaged Products. From 1991 to 1996, upon leaving the U.S. Navy, he held a series of marketing and sales positions of increasing responsibility at Kraft Foods, eventually becoming Brand Manager for Minute Rice.

Dobbs did his undergraduate work at the United States Naval Academy and earned his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.