Paolo Ferrari was named President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Bridgestone Americas, Inc. in January 2020. In addition, he serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Bridgestone Americas and Executive Vice President, Executive Officer and Global Digital Strategic Officer, Bridgestone Corporation.
As President, CEO and COO, Ferrari leads the growth strategy for Bridgestone in the Americas with a focus on helping achieve the company’s vision to be a leader in mobility and solutions.
Ferrari began his career in sales management at luxury brand Zegna in New York in 1994, rapidly gaining experience in sales, marketing and project management. Over the following years, he built his expertise in finance, general management and technology, first at Credit Suisse First Boston in London and then at 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 skilful 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 and achieved double-digit growth and market leadership. In 2016, Ferrari joined Bridgestone as CEO and President of Bridgestone EMIA. He focused on R&D investment, product development, distribution expansion and digital mobility solutions while putting the customer at the center of his strategy.
In 2017, he was appointed Vice President and Senior Officer of Bridgestone Corporation, and was named Executive Vice President, Executive Officer and Global Digital Strategic Officer of Bridgestone Corporation in 2018, as well as Chairman of the Bridgestone Americas Board of Directors.
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.