From Tire Review

With the retirement of long-time chief Kyu Cho at the end of 2006, Kumho Tire Co. named two senior executives to head up its North American operations.

B.K. Kim was named president and CEO of Kumho Tire North America, and Don Hun Ham was named president of Kumho Tire USA Inc.

Kumho Tire North America was formed to oversee the South Korean tiremakers U.S. and Canadian operations. Kim, who joined the company in 1974, was most recently head of Kumho’s sales and administration division. He will be based at Kumho Tire USA’s headquarters in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

Ham succeeds Kyu Cho, who retired after 33 years with the company. Ham joined Kumho in 1978, and worked in a range of overseas posts for Kumho.

Kim addressed key Kumho dealers at the company’s annual dealer sales meeting earlier this month.

“We recently introduced a new global brand identity for Kumho,” said Kim. “Our new logo represents speed, precision and forward progression. These are characteristics that we believe our company and our products possess, and they are characteristics that we want our customers to think of when they see our brand.

Pictured at right: Don Hun Ham

“Our logo is just one of the many changes taking place at Kumho,” he said. “The global tire industry is changing as manufacturers are closing factories and eliminating broad line product offerings that are not profitable. While other brands falter or remain stagnant, Kumho’s global strategy is to expand manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure to be the fifth largest manufacturer by 2015. As part of that strategy, we have evaluated every aspect of our business to make this goal a reality, and we will reach that goal.”