FRANKLIN, Tenn.—Tire industry veteran Rick Phillips is leaving his position as vice president of sales for Triangle Tire USA to start his own consulting firm.
Phillips will become president and CEO of Disruptive Concepts Consulting based in San Antonio. The company is a franchise operation with Sandler Training, a global firm that provides sales, sales management and leadership programs for small- and mid-sized companies, as well as Fortune 500 organizations.
"Rick did a wonderful job in helping Triangle Tire USA establish relationships with key distributors and dealers as we move forward with building our consumer and commercial tire plant in North Carolina," said Manny Cicero, CEO of Triangle Tire USA. "We wish him all the best with his new venture."
Triangle Tire has not named a replacement for Phillips, who joined the company in 2017 after 18 years with Yokohama Tire Corp.
Triangle Tire USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triangle Tyre Co. Ltd., which expects its new plant in Edgecombe County, N.C., to begin mass producing passenger tires in late 2020 or early 2021, with an estimated full capacity of 5 million tires annually. Truck tire production is expected to follow six months later, with an estimated full capacity of 1 million tires each year.