Nashville, Tennessee, United States – January 2026 — Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) today announced Michele Herlein as its new Chief People Officer, leading the Human Resources function across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. At the top of Herlein’s agenda is building momentum through the company’s Culture 2.0 initiative to enable greater teammate empowerment, collaboration and accountability.
“I am excited to welcome her back to Bridgestone, recognizing the perspective and presence she will add to our West leadership team, the HR function, and the broader organization,” said Scott Damon, Bridgestone West CEO and Group President of Bridgestone Americas.
Herlein brings to the role 20+ years of leadership experience, including prior leadership roles at Bridgestone Americas and Bandag, Inc. where she focused on culture, leadership development, and succession planning.
Herlein is a published author and recognized authority on building organizational cultures that drive sustainable business success. Prior to returning to Bridgestone, Herlein was Founder and CEO of CultureMax and previously served as Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Human Resource Officer at Barge Design Solutions, Inc. She is also a co-founder of Impact100 Nashville, an organization through which women in the community have provided over $1.2M in grants to local nonprofits.
About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.:
Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in tires and rubber, building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Bridgestone Americas employs more than 45,000 people across its worldwide operations. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tires and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
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