Rick Phillips, a commercial tire industry veteran sales executive, has joined Triangle Tire as vice president of sales, effective April 1.

Phillips has nearly 40 years of experience in the tire industry and has an established reputation for building and directing effective sales teams, according to Triangle Tire. Triangle Tire offers a range of medium-duty radial truck tires for long haul, regional, and on/off highway applications.

“We are very pleased to welcome Rick to the Triangle Tire team,” said Manny Cicero, CEO of Triangle Tire USA.  “He’s a proven sales leader who has earned widespread respect in the tire and trucking industries. His expertise in the trucking industry will be particularly important as we work with Triangle dealers to supply fleets and owner-operators with high-quality products that deliver a very competitive cost per mile.”

Phillips most recent held the position of vice president of sales for Yokohama Tire Corporation. He joined Yokohama in 1999 as a territory sales manager and held a number of sales management positions before being appointed to head sales. Prior to that, Phillips held sales positions at Joe Esco Tire Corporation, including corporate sales manager.

Triangle Tire USA is a subsidiary of Triangle Tyre, China’s largest privately owned tire manufacturer. The company established its U.S. headquarters in Franklin, Tenn., in 2016.