Firestone Removes Top Exec Ono; Names Successor
Seeking to restore faith in its battered Firestone tire brand, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. on Tuesday removed Chief Executive Masatoshi Ono and replaced him with John Lampe, its No. 2 executive.
Lampe becomes the first American since 1991 to head the U.S. subsidiary of Japanese giant Bridgestone Corp.
Lampe, who was executive vice president, immediately announced a restructuring plan for the company and expressed regrets for the auto accidents involving Firestone tires and mostly Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicles that have killed at least 101 people. He also took a swipe at Ford Motor Co., suggesting that the Explorer itself is part of the cause of the crashes.
Analysts said the promotion of an American to run a Japanese-owned firm was a significant move.
“When you look at everything that’s going on in the Japanese business community between Renault and Nissan, and Ford and Mazda, it does seem that finally there’s integration of Japanese companies to the global arena,” said David Andrea, an auto analyst at CSM Worldwide in Northville, Mich.
Renault controls Nissan and Ford controls Mazda; each have sent Westerners to be their Japanese partners’ presidents.
Takashi Tomioka, senior automotive analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research America in New York, said: “I think it’s a public relations move to make clearer to Americans that it’s an American company.”
“With the testimony to Congress, it was suddenly clear to people that the company had a Japanese at the top,” Tomioka said. “Now Americans will feel closer to the company, maybe even trust it more.”
At a news conference at a hotel near Bridgestone/Firestone’s headquarters in Nashville, Lampe said: “I want my first act as the new CEO to be a sincere apology to those who have suffered personal losses or who have had problems with Firestone tires.”
“There have been rollovers of Ford Explorers, some of which were equipped with Firestone tires,” he said. “We can debate over cause and responsibility, for there is much that is not known. But that does not change the fact that there have been tragic accidents, and for this I am deeply sorry.”
He said that was not an admission that the recalled tires were defective, but he acknowledged that “a small percentage of them have a performance issue” that prompted the recall of 6.5 million Firestone ATX, ATX II and certain Wilderness AT tires in August.
The recall is likely to cost Bridgestone about $100 million more than the $350 million the Japanese parent has already said it will absorb as a special charge this year.
Lampe also criticized Ford, Firestone’s biggest customer, for laying complete responsibility for the accidents on the tire maker.
“Sure I’m tired of hearing that the whole blame rests upon the tire,” Lampe said. “I think anybody . . . who’s looked at the statistics, anyone who’s reviewed the government data, understands that only a very small percentage of Ford Explorer accidents or rollover accidents have been attributed to tires, whether it’s our tire or others--a very small percentage.
“To say that our tires are the only reason for the Ford Explorer accidents, the rollovers, is very unfair.”
He also said that in a number of Explorer accidents in California, Georgia and elsewhere that allegedly involved Firestone tires, the tires were actually not Firestones. “To say that this is just a tire problem is not right,” he said.
Ford disputed Lampe’s assertion, maintaining that the numerous Explorer accidents were caused by bad Firestones.
“The fact is, the tire problem is on the Explorer,” Ford spokesman Ken Zino said. “We would agree with Mr. Lampe if he’s talking about SUVs as a class, that tire-related accidents are a small percentage. Where we disagree is that the problem with the Explorer is the Firestone tire.”
Lampe, 53, said he is assembling a new management team that includes Isao Togashi, currently Bridgestone’s senior vice president of tire production and product technology, who will head manufacturing and development of the U.S. subsidiary. Togashi, 58, will also be vice chairman of the board of directors and oversee manufacturing and process controls; research and development, and quality-assurance procedures.
Lampe will institute new methods of collecting and analyzing field data. The company has been criticized for lackadaisical collecting of accident and other claims data, and for not knowing what to do with it.
“We wll not rest until we have determined the root cause or causes of the accidents, continuing to work with government agencies and outside experts to ensure that a situation like this never happens again,” Lampe said.
Lampe has spent his entire 27-year career at Firestone. He pledged to be open and honest, and said the public would be seeing much more of him than of his predecessor, Ono, who will return to Japan where he is on the board of directors of Bridgestone.
In congressional testimony last month, Lampe was the first Bridgestone/Firestone executive to admit the company had produced defective tires.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Executive Changeover
New CEO: John Lampe
Age: 53
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Kansas State College and a master’s in international management from the American Graduate School of International Management, Glendale, Ariz.
Experience: Executive vice president of Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. and president of Bridgestone/Firestone Tire Sales Co., 1995-2000; president of Dayton Tire Co., a division of Bridgestone/Firestone, 1991. Joined Firestone in 1973.
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‘There have been accidents and rollovers with Ford Explorers equipped with Firestone tires. We can debate over cause and responsibility, about who knew what and when. But that does not change the fact that these accidents happened and we at Bridgestone/Firestone will remember this our entire lives. We know that many people, not just in the United States, but around the world, are now questioning our integrity and the safety of our tires. And we know that we can’t blame anyone else for people losing trust in Firestone products--not our customers, not our business partners, not the media or Congress. The responsibility is ours.”
--From a speech Tuesday, when he was named chairman, chief executive and president of Bridgestone/ Firestone’s U.S. operations.
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Departing CEO: Masatoshi Ono
Age: 63
Education: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Kumamoto University.
Experience: Chairman of Bridgestone/ Firestone Inc. and vice president of Bridgestone Corp., 1996-2000; CEO of Bridgestone/Firestone, 1993-2000; executive vice president of manufacturing and technology, 1991-93; vice president and plant manager of Kurume Plant, Bridgestone Tire Co. (now Bridgestone Corp.), 1990; director of Bridgestone Tire Co., 1987-90. Joined Bridgestone Tire Co.
in 1959.
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‘As chief executive officer, I come before you. I apologize to you and the American people, especially for the family. They have lost loved ones. ... Also came to accept full and personal responsibility on behalf of Bridgestone/Firestone for the event that led to this hearing. Whenever people are hurt or fatally injured in an automobile accident, it is a tragedy. Whenever people are injured while riding on Firestone tires, it is cause for the great concern among Bridgestone/Firestone management and our 35,000 American employees.”
--From testimony Sept. 6, made
before the congressional committee investigating the recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires.
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Source: Associated Press
