Bridgestone CEO Mark Emkes '75 to Speak at Western Kentucky University

November 24, 2005

November 24, 2005, Greencastle, Ind. - Mark A. Emkes, chairman and CEO of Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. and 1975 graduate of DePauw University, will deliver the the Hays Watkins Visiting CEO Lecture at Western Kentucky University on November 29. An item in the Bowling Green Daily News reports that Emkes will discuss "The Thrill of International Business" in an 11:15 a.m. speech at WKU's Grise Hall.

The article points out that "Emkes received a bachelor's degree in economics from DePauw University and an MBA from the Gavin School of International Management in Phoenix... [He] began his career with Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. as an international trainee near Houston, where he was named store manager by 1977. From 1979 to 1997, he held various management positions in the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Brazil and Mexico, and became president and managing director for Bridgestone Firestone in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was promoted to executive vice president of Bridgestone Firestone Inc. and elected to a seat on its board of directors in 1999. In 2000, Emkes returned to the United States and was named president of Bridgestone Firestone Latin American Operations. In 2002, he assumed his current role of chairman and CEO of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC and in 2004 became chairman and CEO of Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc."