Riccardo Cichi was named President and Chief Sales Officer, North America for the Americas Tire Group of Bridgestone Americas in March 2020. In this newly created role, Cichi is responsible for leading a consolidated sales organization for both the consumer replacement tire business and the commercial truck, bus and retread tire business in the U.S. and Canada. He also oversees the company’s GCR Tires & Service commercial service network.
Cichi brings more than 30 years of global tire industry experience and a deep knowledge of the North American tire markets. He joined Bridgestone in 2017 as the Chief Sales Officer for Bridgestone Europe, Middle East, India, & Africa (EMIA) based in Brussels, Belgium where he managed a matrix organization comprised of the Consumer, Commercial, OE and Retail businesses driving top line sales and financial performance.
Prior to joining Bridgestone, Cichi spent more than two decades building his tire industry career with Pirelli Tire, where he most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer, NAFTA Region overseeing sales and marketing in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. In this role, he led the company to profitability and growth through strategic development and implementation of a defined distribution and product strategy, a strong brand, and optimized manufacturing processes that led to an organizational turnaround.
Cichi graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics and history from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and has an MBA from the University of New Haven in Connecticut. He is fluent in English, French, and Italian and has a basic proficiency in Spanish.