Episodes
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The idea of a fleet may bring to mind a very specific type of vehicle for some people. But the reality in the modern world of mobility is that fleets truly come in all shapes and sizes. In the latest episode of THRIVE, host Keith Cawley explores the changing world of commercial tire and fleet solutions with two of Bridgestone’s top experts – Steve Hoeft, President of the Commercial Truck Group for Bridgestone Americas, and Brian Cunningham, Vice President of Fleet Solutions Customer Success for Bridgestone Mobility Solutions. From traditional tractor trailers to emerging home delivery services, Steve and Brian discuss how innovative technologies and digital solutions are coming together with premium tire products to serve a diverse range of modern fleets across all areas of business
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Explore Bridgestone’s fascinating history on the western coast of Africa where the country of Liberia has been home to Firestone Natural Rubber since 1926. In the latest episode of THRIVE, host Keith Cawley chats with two Liberian natives and current Firestone Natural Rubber employees, Marion Wreh-Socree and Murphy Socree, about operations, life, and community on a sprawling natural rubber farm that covers approximately 185 square miles. Rick Burnett, Vice President of Internal Manufacturing and President of Firestone Natural Rubber and Firestone Polymers, also joins to discuss the company's history in Liberia and how it is evolving for the future through an award-winning digitalization project. Listen to learn more about the complexity of an operation that goes well beyond farming to provide housing, roadways, schools, medical centers, and more for thousands of employees and their families.
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It was only four years after its founding as a rubber and tire company that Bridgestone produced its first golf ball. Nearly 90 years later, Bridgestone Golf continues to serve the Bridgestone brand both as a promotional platform and a showcase for material science innovation. Join host Keith Cawley and Dan Murphy, President of Bridgestone Golf, to discover the parallels that connect Bridgestone tire technology to golf ball development – with a little research and development help from golf legends like Tiger Woods.
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When you think of robots, most envision the rigid movements of the metallic, stiff machines popularized in TV and movies. But there is a very different and more realistic image that comes to mind for Hiroki Nakayama and the team at Bridgestone Soft Robotics Ventures. While exhibiting this exploratory technology at CES 2024, Nakayama-san joins THRIVE host Keith Cawley to explain how our rubber, material science, and friction expertise make Bridgestone a natural fit for this space. Listen along to explore more about how Bridgestone Soft Robotics Ventures views the dynamic realm of this innovation, its applications, and it’s potential impact on the perception of human-robot interaction.
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Human trafficking is a global crisis impacting more than 50 million victims as of 2023. With a connected network of customers and partners always moving across America’s roadways, transportation industry leaders like Bridgestone can play a critical role in the fight. In this episode of THRIVE from CES 2024, Esther Goetsch, Executive Director of Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), and Josh Holland, Vice President of Dealer Operations for Bridgestone Mobility Solutions, join host Keith Cawley to discuss how TAT and Bridgestone working together to raise awareness of the problem and drive change.
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Motorsports have long been a proving ground and mobile lab for leaders in the automotive industry, and Bridgestone is no different. But in line with its vision for the future and long-term targets, the company is increasingly focusing its racing energy in emerging motorsports platforms that are trying to drive innovation in alternative and more sustainable mobility – such as the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. In the latest episode of THRIVE recorded at CES 2024, host Keith Cawley chats with Todd Uchida, Director of the Bridgestone Motorsports Division in Japan, and Matthew Albert, captain of the Éclipse ÉTS World Solar Challenge team, to go inside this unique solar car competition and where it fits within Bridgestone’s global motorsports and business strategies.
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Dive into the connected ecosystem of fleet management in this episode of THRIVE live from CES 2024. Dishing on data and talking telematics, host Keith Cawley sits down with Jan-Maarten de Vries, President of Fleet Management Solutions for Bridgestone Mobility Solutions, to explore how platforms like Webfleet and Azuga are integral to Bridgestone’s mobility solutions strategy. From collecting real-time data from vehicles to providing actionable insights to fleet managers, these platforms have the potential to influence energy and emissions, cost of ownership, predictive maintenance, and more in the pursuit of improved efficiency, safety and sustainability.
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With a shared history in motorsports and a common vision for a more sustainable future, Penske and Bridgestone continue to travel similar paths to drive change in the mobility industry. In this episode live from CES 2024, THRIVE host Keith Cawley chats with Bill Combs, Vice President of Sustainability at Penske, and Mark Metoki, Executive Director of Sustainability Enabling Solutions for Bridgestone, about areas of collaboration, co-creation, and shared learning where these two historic companies are working closely together to advance operations and innovation both within their own businesses and across the mobility ecosystem.
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THRIVE kicks off season 7 at CES 2024 by exploring the rapid advancement of autonomous vehicle technologies with Don Burnette, CEO and founder of Kodiak Robotics, and Cassiano Polycarpo, Director of Original Equipment Account Management for Bridgestone Mobility Solutions. Don shares his journey from the early days at Google's self-driving team to founding Kodiak Robotics, while Cassiano explains how Bridgestone is making an impact on these technologies. Between current breakthroughs and a critical role to be played by tires, the future is now for both Kodiak and Bridgestone when it comes to bringing driver-less vehicles to the road.
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In October 2023, Bridgestone introduced the next chapter in its global strategy with the formation of Bridgestone West. In this episode of THRIVE, CEO Paolo Ferrari sits down with Keith Cawley to explain the drivers of this dynamic integration, which is bringing together Bridgestone businesses and functions across the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Paolo shares how this new global structure will accelerate business opportunities, expand synergies, and foster best practice sharing across the regions to help deliver Bridgestone’s vision to become a sustainable solutions company.
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Bridgestone introduced the concept of ENLITEN in 2022 and is moving quickly to demonstrate the impact it can make in both its product strategy and operations. Already in 2023 Bridgestone has launched two new ENLITEN products that are changing the game through advanced materials and design, including the breakthrough PeakLife polymer. In this episode, host Keith Cawley is joined by Jess Placke and Dale Harrigle, two engineers from the Bridgestone Americas Technology Center in Akron, Ohio, who played pivotal roles in delivering the company’s first tire designed exclusively for EVs and an ultra-high performance all-season tire with longer wear life than ever before.
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Quality is a word that carries immense importance at Bridgestone, but it can mean different things to different people. Join THRIVE host Keith Cawley as he quizzes quality leaders about the crucial role their team plays in fulfilling Bridgestone's mission. Chris Lasko, Chief Quality Officer, and Nick Turk, the Executive Director of Quality Operations, join Keith to discuss how quality spans the enterprise, sets the tone for customer experience, and connects the dots across a massive enterprise to ensure Bridgestone’s unyielding standards are achieved at all times.
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Hi there, and welcome to THRIVE, a Bridgestone Americas podcast exploring our company through compelling conversations with the people moving us forward every day. Our conversations dive deep into the different areas of our business and how they support our strategic vision. We also unpack our history, highlight our culture, and connect the dots on tangible efforts we're driving to deliver our commitment to help create a better world for future generations. At Bridgestone, we believe that today, tomorrow, together, we thrive. We hope you’ll join us on the ride.
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From humble beginnings in Akron, Ohio, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company grew to become a global powerhouse in the transportation industry. Now the history of the company and its pioneering founder, Harvey Firestone, lives on through the Firestone Archives – one of the most robust corporate archives ever assembled. More than 120 years of chronicled history includes correspondence with U.S. Presidents, detailed journals of intimate friendships with innovation icons like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, photos and memorabilia from extreme glamping adventures, and a whole lot more. Join Gloria Caples, Firestone’s brand manager, Jennifer Andreola, lead archivist from History Factory, and THRIVE host Keith Cawley to learn about the importance of the Firestone Archives and what interesting items have been preserved.
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Season six of THRIVE takes off with a reconnect on our Bridgestone purpose. Join host Keith Cawley for a conversation with Sara Correa, Chief Marketing Officer at Bridgestone Americas, and Wade Munday, Director of Corporate Philanthropy and Social Impact, as they explore how the Bridgestone Americas Trust Fund, brand partnerships, local community initiatives, and more are helping address what really matters in our communities and society.
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Teams across Bridgestone are increasingly focused on helping the company advance toward its long-term sustainability goals, but one group in particular has this pursuit more explicitly outlined in its name. From developing new demo tires with 75% recycled and renewable materials to forging partnerships that seek to unlock new possibilities for end-of-life tires, the Sustainable Business Office is tasked with identifying, innovating, evaluating, and incubating exploratory opportunities that can drive value for society and our customers. Erik Seidel, Vice President of the Sustainable Business Office, and Marcela Castaño, Lead Applied Researcher of Sustainable Materials and Circular Economy, join host Keith Cawley to break it all down.
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Bridgestone is doubling down on ensuring both its processes and products make a positive environmental impact as it continues its journey to become a sustainable solutions company. In addition to advancing smart manufacturing with cutting edge technologies, Bridgestone is driving innovative environmental projects in manufacturing to make further progress against its bold long-term sustainability goals. This episode features Greg Harris, Vice President of Manufacturing Engineering, and Nick Ramos, Executive Director of Environmental Affairs, two leaders leaning into cross-functional collaboration to push plans related to energy, ecology, and beyond that can help make a lasting impact on our planet.
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The base concept of the newly-introduced term ENLITEN is the same for everyone at Bridgestone: a complete focus on maximizing both performance and sustainability. However, it can mean something different depending on the audience, serving as an internal operational mindset that influences end-to-end activities across our entire company, as well as an external designation for premium products and solutions that feature our most innovative materials and technology. In this episode, Bridgestone Americas COO Scott Damon offers enlightenment to help simplify the world of ENLITEN and beyond.
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At Bridgestone, how we operate is just as critical as what we produce. In pioneering sustainable solutions for a digital world, we’re making investments that accelerate smart manufacturing and make our operations safer, more efficient, and more data driven. In this episode, host Keith Cawley chats with Andy Warren, Senior Manager of Engineering Services Support, and Joe Wilson, Director of Maintenance and Plant Support, about a world of new technologies in our manufacturing plants that include robot dogs, extended reality, 3D mapping and more.
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A digital transformation is evolving how we work at Bridgestone to support the need for data to be available to teammates, partners and customers whenever and wherever they need it. But smoothly and securely delivering this efficiency and convenience in a modern world doesn't happen overnight. In this episode, host Keith Cawley talks to Bridie Sellers, Vice President and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Lead, and Tom Corridon, Chief Information Security Officer, about large-scale digitalization initiatives taking place across the company that are designed to streamline, protect and enhance the work we do.
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