Underscoring its commitment to accelerating growth and innovation, leading global tire maker Hankook Tire has announced executive promotions at its North America headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. Curtis Brison has been named president of Hankook Tire North America (formerly Hankook Tire America). He succeeds Sooil Lee, who remains CEO of Hankook Tire & Technology. Additionally, Robert Williams has been promoted to senior vice president of Truck, Bus and Radial (TBR) sales. Jong Jin (JJ) Park has been promoted to vice president of marketing.
“The North American market is critical to our global business strategy, and Curtis, JJ and Rob have been instrumental to accelerating our growth,” said Sooil Lee, president and CEO, Hankook Tire & Technology. “Curtis has proven his strength as a sales leader with a strong commitment to customer success. Rob has demonstrated success throughout the TBR sector. JJ has driven marketing strategies that have had a positive impact throughout the region. All are integral members of the team, who will be essential to navigating the years ahead for Hankook throughout North America.”
Brison assumes the role of president of Hankook Tire North America, overseeing the U.S. and Canada regions. He will lead four departments and direct teams including the Tennessee plant. He also will continue to oversee the U.S. Passenger Car and Light Truck (PCLT) department, where he has served as vice president since joining Hankook in 2020. With 15 years of experience in the tire and automotive sectors, Brison has been instrumental in driving new product introductions and segment expansions in the U.S., including the All-Weather Kinergy 4S2 and Dynapro XT and Dynapro AT2 Xtreme.
“Hankook continues to bring the right combination of performance, innovation and quality to the development of our passenger and commercial tire portfolios,” said Brison. “I am honored to work with our teams across North America to further drive innovation and success for Hankook and our customers throughout the tire industry.”
Williams oversees all TBR tire sales at Hankook, including replacement and OE sales, and will continue to lead the TBR sales team and regional offices as senior vice president. He joined Hankook as senior director of TBR sales in 2019, bringing with him more than three decades of tire industry experience. Williams has a proven track record of success in sales and operations leadership, strategic planning and optimizing profitability.
Park will oversee five teams as vice president of marketing: marketing strategy team, TBR marketing team, technical service team, America Regional Distribution Centers (RDC), operation team, and Canada sales subsidiary. He has served as the marketing director and U.S. sales innovation director for Hankook Tire America and will continue to serve as marketing director in his new role. Park joined Hankook Tire in 2005 and has experience across the American and United Kingdom regions. Bartek Choi, who has been working for Hankook in Nashville, Tenn. for two years, will assume Park’s former role as U.S. sales innovation director.
In addition, Yong Sup (Peter) Jung who served as COO for Hankook Tire America for the past two years, has relocated to Hankook’s Asia-Pacific division with a focus on expanding brand recognition and market growth. He will be based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
