Mat Wilkinson has been appointed as Commercial Sales and Marketing Director for Continental Tyre Group, with responsibility for the UK and Republic of Ireland.  With a career in the tyre industry which spans almost 20 years, Mat will be taking over from Arthur Gregg, who has moved to a new position within Continental, as Integration Manager for the Bandvulc business.

Mat began his career in 1998 working for Michelin Tyre Plc as a Truck Sales Manager.  During his 11 years with Michelin, Mat gained experience in a variety of customer facing roles, from traditional sales, project managing CRM systems through to Michelin Fleet Solutions.  During his final years with Michelin, Mat worked predominantly in PPK and Risk management, delivering advice and support to the Senior Management team, Key Account and Sales Managers.

Most recently Mat spent six years with Bridgestone Europe based out of their European head office in Brussels.  While at Bridgestone, Mat was involved in the development of medium to long term strategies for the Commercial Business Unit, providing leadership to the business development, operations and system development departments as well as responsibility for the European Solution Business.

Speaking of his new role, Mat observed: “These are exciting times in our industry. Customers have far more sophisticated expectations than ever before, requiring solutions which offer real business value as well as data that is meaningful, manageable and actionable.  We no longer work in an industry which simply provides products, tyres are a financial asset for our customers that need to be managed not just maintained.

“One of the big draws for me in working with Continental is that tyres are just one aspect of the Group’s capabilities. As one of the world’s top automotive suppliers; Continental enjoys a holistic view of the industry and is perfectly positioned to provide customers with advanced solutions, including connectivity and intelligent mobility.”

When not working, Mat enjoys reading, walking in nature and travel.

Continental Truck tyres

About the Author: John Loughran