Yokohama UK names new managing director

Milton Keynes, UK – Yokohama Rubber Industries’ UK distribution arm Yokohama HPT has appointed Marisa Hever-Smith as its new managing director.

Currently serving as the chief financial officer, Hever-Smith will assume the role of managing director for the UK business, effective 1 April, said Yokohama HPT 19 Jan.

Hever-Smith joined Yokohama in September 2022 and prior to that was finance director at Prometeon Tyre Group.

The top management change, said Yokohama, is part of a “transformation project to ensure Yokohama continues its growth within the UK”.

The growth, it added, is targeted for both the passenger car tire and truck & bust tire markets in “the coming years”.

Current Yokohama HPT CEO Peter Fairlie will remain within Yokohama as a consultant to support the senior management team to strengthen the group’s position in the UK market.