BKT promotes Kershaw to president of BKT USA

SEREGNO, Italy—Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) has made it official: Doug Kershaw has been named president of the company's U.S. subsidiary, BKT USA.

The company made the announcement as part of several personnel changes. The others include Chris Rhoades, named vice president, Off the Road business, BKT USA; Alan Eskow, vice president of BKT Canada, named vice president, Agri-Industrial Business of BKT USA; and Shrikant Gadge, receiving additional responsibilities as manager, sales and marketing for BKT Tires, Canada.

The company said Minoo Mehta will remain part of the BKT USA team as a senior advisor and member of the Managing Committee.

The appointments are effective Aug. 1. The company said the moves were made to leverage "the breadth and depth of the company's existing talent to promote continued growth."

Kershaw joined BKT USA in 2018, and the company said he has played a key role in enhancing BKT's product distribution in the U.S., helping the company add a warehouse in Kansas City, upgrading the USA headquarters and expanding BKT's presence in the agriculture, construction and mining sectors.

The company said his goals will be to strengthen and increase brand awareness and positioning in the U.S., with the help of Mehta.

Rhoades has been with BKT USA since 2015, leading the activities related to medium and large OTR products. He has 22 years of experience in the OTR industry.

Rhodes will report to Kershaw and Mehta, with a goal to drive sales of medium and large OTR products.

Eskow joined BKT USA in 2010 and transitioned to Canada in 2013. He was appointed vice president, sales, and marketing of BKT Canada in 2018. BKT said he was instrumental in strengthening BKT's brand equity in agricultural, industrial, construction and port application tires in Canada.

He will report to Kershaw and Mehta, with the goal of driving agriculture and industrial business in the USA. He will continue to manage OEMs sales in Canada.

Gadge joined BKT India in 2008, working on sales and marketing initiatives for BKT USA. BKT said he is a key contributor to BKT's growth in the Canadian market for the ag and OTR sectors.

In his new role, Gadge will shoulder the responsibilities of Eskow as manager, Exports Marketing for BKT Tires in Canada. He will report to Rajiv Poddar, joint managing director.

Arvind Poddar, chairman and managing director of BKT called Kershaw and Rhoades an "invaluable part of BKT and have been actively expanding BKT's presence in key sectors in the USA, such as construction and mining."

He said Eskow's appointment to the U.S. team "will accelerate our efforts in the agriculture business. Under the guidance of Minoo Mehta, I am confident that this team's leadership will continue to do an incredible job."

He said Gadge's addition "to the talented Canada team will further strengthen our market."

BKT ranks No. 36 in the world in global tire sales, according to Rubber News data, with nearly $740 million in global sales in 2020.

"BKT deeply believes in 'Growing Together' and nurturing our talent," Arvind Poddar said. "It is our DNA to anchor growth opportunities for our employees and enable them to contribute toward organizational goals to their fullest potential. BKT is people's brand."