GRI has recruited a highly experienced and respected executive to its senior sales team to increase the momentum of the company’s rapid global expansion with its portfolio of Specialty Tires. 

Having established itself as a trusted supplier of high-performance Industrial tires for material handling applications, GRI expanded its product offering into agriculture and construction tires in 2018. As Head of Global Sales, Rafael “Tony” Lugioyo will be based in the United States and will be leading GRI’s efforts to expand its sales, distribution and dealer network to support the full scope of its agriculture and construction tire segment. 

Lugioyo joins GRI with more than 28 years of experience in the United States as well as international entrepreneurial sales and marketing. He was previously the managing director of American Tire Distributors (ATD) of North Carolina. Prior to that, he was the managing director/equity partner of Hercules Tire and Rubber Co. in Ohio and vice president/founding partner of Tire Distributor Inc in Florida. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian and has managed international staff and country-specific sales covering more than 50 countries. Lugioyo has been the co-founder and managing partner of four startup companies. He is experienced and is driven by investments that bring significant growth, profitability, efficiencies and shareholder value.

Commenting on his appointment, GRI Managing Director Prabhash Subasinghe stated, “Tony’s experience and knowledge will benefit our global sales and support the continuous growth of GRI’s global distribution network. I take this opportunity to welcome Tony to our GRI family.”

Lugioyo added, “I look forward to joining a great global team and feel fortunate to be part of GRI’s future endeavors and sustained growth.”