CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Indian tire maker CEAT Ltd. has hired Donald "Ryan" Loethen, formerly a Michelin North America sales executive, as president of CEAT Specialty Tires Inc., responsible for sales in North and Central America.
Loethen takes over as the Charlotte-based company's top executive a year after Tarang Srivastava, general manager since 2017, left the company for a job in Asia with Mitsui & Co. Loethen will be based in Jefferson City, Mo.
Before joining CEAT, Loethen was agricultural business manager, key account manager and sales process training manager for Michelin Agriculture North America. Prior to joining Michelin, Loethen was an officer in the United States Army.
"Ryan brings with him 22 years of rich experience in business development, key account management, supply chain management, marketing and training," CEAT Specialty Tyres CEO Vijay Gambhire said.
"With his extensive knowledge and deep experience in the farm sector, he will play a key role in building on the momentum CEAT has established in the North American ag industry over the past three years."
Loethen called CEAT an "amazing company with amazing people. CEAT is the only tire company outside of Japan to win the Deming Prize. This speaks volumes of the quality of the people, the manufacturing process, and the product.
"CEAT has a technologically magnificent product that is poised to make a massive impact on the North American market," he added. "Further, CEAT has the team that can and will make it happen."
CEAT Ltd., the No. 4 tire maker in India and No. 30 worldwide, established a sales company in 2017 in Charlotte to handle CEAT-branded radial agricultural and specialty tires in the U.S.