Bridgestone Americas Executive VP To Retire

Bridgestone Americas’ Christine Karbowiak has announced that she will retire after more than 28 years of service.

She will remain in her current roles as executive vice president, executive officer, G-chief sustainability officer and member of the global executive committee of Bridgestone Corp., and executive vice president, chief administrative officer and member of the executive committee of Bridgestone Americas, until the end of 2020.

Joining the company as senior counsel for Bridgestone Retail Operations in 1992, Karbowiak was named chief administrative officer and executive vice president for Bridgestone Americas in 2010, and chief risk officer the following year, with oversight of the communications; government affairs; environment, health and safety; security, and sustainability departments for Bridgestone Americas.

First elected a vice president and officer of Bridgestone Corp. in 2011, she was named to that company’s global executive committee in 2014 and, most recently, was elected executive vice president and executive officer in 2019. She also serves on boards of directors of Bridgestone Americas (as vice chair) and Bridgestone China Asia Pacific.

Bridgestone says Karbowiak has played key roles in many facets of the Bridgestone business, including leading site selection and development efforts for Bridgestone Tower in downtown Nashville. She helped secure notable sport partnerships on behalf global Bridgestone, including the World Golf Championship’s Bridgestone Invitational, Bridgestone Senior Players Championship and Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic partnerships.

A longtime advocate for evolving Bridgestone’s sustainability position, the company says Karbowiak led the development, launch and implementation of Bridgestone’s Global Sustainable Procurement Policy, and in 2019, became the company’s first global chief sustainability officer. She currently represents Bridgestone on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Tire Industry Project, roles that she will continue through 2021.