Paolo Ferrari is President & CEO of Bridgestone Americas, a position he has held since January 2020. He also serves as Executive Officer, Joint Global Chief Operating Officer and Global Chief Business Solutions Officer of Bridgestone Corporation.
Ferrari first joined Bridgestone in 2016 as CEO & President, Bridgestone Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMIA). While in Europe, he focused on R&D investment, product development, distribution expansion and digital mobility solutions while putting the customer at the center of his strategy. As BSEMIA CEO, Ferrari spearheaded the mobility solutions strategy for Bridgestone globally with the acquisition of TomTom Telematics, which today is known as Webfleet Solutions.
As President & CEO of Bridgestone Americas, Ferrari leads the growth strategy for Bridgestone across North and South America, including its core tire and retail businesses, as well as the company’s expanding mobility solutions offering. Ferrari has been instrumental in evolving the Bridgestone business portfolio in the region to include sustainable mobility solutions. He led the successful acquisition of the Azuga fleet management business in September 2021, and guided minority investments in a selection of startup mobility companies that includes May Mobility, Kodiak Robotics, Wrench and Yoshii.
In April 2022, Ferrari was named Joint Global COO, giving him accountability and oversight for Bridgestone EMIA in addition to Bridgestone Americas. In this expanded global role, Ferrari is focused on driving increased coordination between the Americas and EMIA markets and scaling the Bridgestone solutions business worldwide.
Prior to joining Bridgestone, Ferrari had a diverse career that spanned the finance, general management and technology sectors. He began his career in sales management at luxury brand Zegna in New York in 1994, followed by several years in finance at Credit Suisse First Boston in London and Kataweb, the Internet company of Gruppo L’Espresso. From 2002 to 2011, he took on a series of CEO roles within TIM (Telecom Italia) Group in Italy, Germany and France and managed assets in Latin America and Southeast Asia. His business development acumen brought the Group key strategic gains through skillful turnaround of key enterprises.
As a result of his global exposure, multi-industry business development expertise and deep understanding of the American market, Ferrari was appointed Chairman and CEO of Pirelli North America in January of 2012 and later CEO of Pirelli Latin America. Through these roles he built his expertise in tires and automotive services, achieving double-digit growth and market leadership.
Ferrari earned his bachelor’s degree in business and economics from the Milan Bocconi University and an MBA from the New York University Stern School of Business.
February, 2020 - present