Bridgestone Corp. Picks Former Head of European Operations as Its New President

TOKYO January 12, 2006; Yuri Kageyama writing for the AP reported that Bridgestone Corp., the world's top tiremaker, picked the former head of its European operations as its president and chief executive Thursday.

Executive Vice President Shoshi Arakawa, 61, replaces Shigeo Watanabe, who stepped down a year earlier than scheduled because he felt the Japanese manufacturer had successfully put behind the massive tire-recall scandal at its U.S. subsidiary.

Last year, Bridgestone Firestone and Ford Motor Co. reached a settlement in their five-year dispute over accidents involving Firestone ATX and AT tires.

At least 271 people were reported killed and hundreds more injured in the accidents, and the maker recalled 6.5 million tires. Bridgestone blamed the accidents on defects in some Ford vehicles, while Ford said the tires were at fault.

Watanabe, who remains on the board as adviser, said customer trust about tire quality had been regained, and the settlement with Ford closed what he saw as a crisis at the company.

Watanabe took office in 2001 promising to tackle the scandal. He noted he had fulfilled his promise to bring U.S. operations back into the black in two years.

"I'm confident I've completed my mission," he told reporters at a Tokyo hotel, adding that the next stage was to set up leadership over global operations.

Arakawa was chosen for his widespread experience with Bridgestone's overseas business, including Europe and Thailand, Watanabe said.

Arakawa, who also served as director of Bridgestone's China division, said he needed more time to work out the details of his strategy but promised to do his utmost to oversee a rapidly globalizing business, including strengthening service and retail networks abroad. His appointment takes effect after a shareholders' meeting March 30.

Tokyo-based Bridgestone has been posting robust results lately, recording a 159 billion yen (US$1.4 billion; euro1.2 billion) profit for the first three quarters of last year, nearly double what it earned the same period the previous year.