Veteran tyre executive Bruce Besancon has joined Yokohama Tire Corp (YTC) as Senior Director of OTR sales. Besancon will report to Jeff Barna, Yokohama’s COO, and will be responsible for OTR sales. Besancon, who was Vice President of Marketing at Alliance Tire Americas (ATA), takes over from long-time YTC OTR Sales Director Tim Easter, who is returning to the field to work more closely with customers.

“Our OTR team is already one of the best in the industry, and it just got a lot stronger with the addition of Bruce,” said Barna. “He will be a major asset for us because he has nearly 30 years of OTR tyre experience – counting the 20+ with Michelin – and has expertise in several areas, including product development and marketing.”

Before joining Yokohama, Besancon, who has a BS Degree in Mechanical Engineering, was instrumental in the development of ATA brands – Alliance, Galaxy and Primex – for the agriculture, construction and forestry segments.

Prior to ATA, Besancon held many OTR positions at Michelin, including Global Product Manager, North American Marketing Director for Earthmover Products and field engineer.