ROME, GA – Several executives recognized for being instrumental in Pirelli’s significant growth over the past four years were recently promoted to vice president posts. Steve Carpino has been promoted to head of R&D and product development, John Hagan will now be in charge of original equipment, and Andrew Kearton, will be responsible for manufacturing.
Kearton joined Pirelli in 1984, four years before his graduation from England’s Carlisle
College with a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He has spent his entire career in operations, including five years in Italy, working as a quality engineer, production manager and director of manufacturing, culminating in being chosen as the person responsible for the construction of Pirelli’s state-of-the-art MIRS facility in Rome, GA. Since the plant was inaugurated in August of 2002, Kearton has been its only director of manufacturing, overseeing the installation of four MIRS modules through June of 2006. Under his tutelage, the plant has won RMA’s prestigious Safety and Health Improvement Program (SHIP) four straight years, the only plant to win the award more than once.
Carpino has spent virtually his entire career in the tire industry since graduating from the University of Missouri in 1974 with B.S. degree in Chemistry. He joined Armstrong Rubber Co. in 1983 as manager of process technology. When Pirelli purchased Armstrong in 1988, Carpino became manager of car/light truck design group and eventually director of product engineering in 1998. In 2002, he was promoted to director of research and development where he was responsible product development and manufacturing technical support, as well compound, material and tire testing.
John Hagan joined Pirelli in 1989, shortly after graduation from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut with a B.S. degree in Finance. Hagan’s early years included stints as credit manager, financial analyst, customer service manager and northeast territory manager before managing the Sears Tire Group account, the world’s largest tire retailer, for Pirelli. In 1998, he was appointed director of original equipment sales based in Detroit, MI, where he was responsible for working with the purchasing personnel and automotive engineers to develop original equipment fitments.
With the success of MIRS and the resulting product development, Hagan and his staff have been able to develop unique, upscale fitments for Chrysler (SRT) and Cadillac, as well as become a major Tier One supplier to Ford.
For more information about Pirelli, go to: http://www.us.pirelli.com.
