Gary Garfield

Former CEO of Bridgestone Americas, Inc. America's "Turnaround" CEO

Gary Garfield is an expert on change and leadership. As the CEO of Bridgestone Americas, a 55,000-person company with operations on five continents, he drove radical change throughout the struggling organization. His efforts transformed the company from slow-moving to an industry leader, achieving 500% profit growth in six years. Unlike many, Gary speaks from a position of hands-on success, sharing insights into what works and what doesn’t.

Gary Garfield Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type
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Languages Spoken
English

Gary Garfield Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type
Please Inquire
Languages Spoken
English

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Driving Results

In his keynote, Driving Results, Garfield explains in compelling fashion that “when you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” That was what Bridgestone Americas faced. It had operated the same way for decades, and its cultural was that of on old-line manufacturing ...

In his keynote, Driving Results, Garfield explains in compelling fashion that “when you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” That was what Bridgestone Americas faced. It had operated the same way for decades, and its cultural was that of on old-line manufacturing company. Its employee base had been with the company for many years, and was resistant to any meaningful change. If the company was going to survive, much less thrive, it had to make dramatic changes. Yet, 75% of all change efforts fail. Garfield shares how he successfully drove change, and how you can do exactly the same thing!

He explains key elements of change, without which any meaningful change effort is doomed, and how he creatively used the concept of innovation to get the organization to embrace and actually seek the cultural changes that were needed to take the organization to the next level. It worked – the company’s results were extraordinary. Your industry group, company, division, department or group will all learn and benefit the same way Bridgestone Americas did.

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About Keynote Speaker Gary Garfield

Gary Garfield is a keynote speaker, consultant, and writer, having authored numerous opinion editorials for various publications. As the CEO of Bridgestone Americas, he made radical changes to the struggling organization resulting in record profits every year of his tenure, and a 500 percent improvement in profitability in six years. He speaks from a position of experience on driving change, real leadership, the importance of culture, corporate responsibility, and crisis management, and can work with clients to focus his message on their particular needs. When requested, Gary also is willing to work with clients on an ongoing basis as they strive to change their organizations.

Bridgestone Americas accounts for about 50 percent of the global revenue of Bridgestone worldwide, the world’s largest tire and rubber company. Bridgestone Americas employs more than 55,000 teammates worldwide and operates on five continents. Through its subsidiaries, Bridgestone Americas manufactures and markets a wide range of tires for a variety of applications primarily under the Bridgestone and Firestone brand names. Among other business units, Bridgestone Americas also owns and operates the world’s largest automotive service and tire retailer, a world leading commercial roofing and building products company, and the worldwide leader in vehicle and equipment air spring technology, among other businesses.

On March 1, 2010, after serving as Vice President and General Counsel for three years, Gary Garfield assumed the role of CEO and President of Bridgestone Americas, Inc. After his March 2011 election as Vice President and Senior Officer of Bridgestone Corporation, Garfield was promoted to Senior Vice President of Bridgestone Corporation, on September 1, 2014. In March 2016, Garfield was promoted again to Executive Vice President of Bridgestone Corporation.

Gary retired from Bridgestone on September 1, 2016, to spend more time with his family.

In addition to his work at Bridgestone, Garfield joined the Board of Directors of Piedmont Natural Gas, Inc., a NYSE company, in 2015. While on the Board, he served on the Finance and Risk Committee as well as the Compensation Committee. This position ended when Piedmont was purchased by Duke Energy in October 2016.

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Garfield also has served on several charitable and industry organizations, including the Tennessee Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, the United Way of Middle Tennessee, Meharry Medical College, and the Board of the Rubber Manufacturer’s Association. Garfield also served on the Steering Committee of Nashville’s Agenda. He was a member of the Board of Visitors – Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Business from 2011 to 2017, and in 2012 was named National Chair for the Take Steps Be Heard walk program for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. He was a 2013 member of the Greater Nashville Executive Leadership Team for the American Heart Association and served as the 2015 Heart Walk Chairman. He also chaired the Moving Forward initiative which advocated for mass transit solutions in Nashville.

Garfield received his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Philosophy and in Political Science from Wittenberg University and his Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he also served as an editor of the Law Review.

Testimonials

“Gary Garfield was spectacular! He customized his talk to exactly what we were looking for and the audience loved him.”

United Manufacturing

“Gary did a fantastic job of using business cases and metaphors that helped our leaders see the real-world impacts and implications of deliberate cultural change. Read More

HR Director - U.S. Xpress, Inc.

Gary spends time upfront understanding the current business situation so he can customize his message to the audience. He is a thoughtful and humble speaker. He captivates participants by sharing the strategies that were implemented and obstacles that were overcome to deliver record breaking profits as the CEO of Bridgestone. During his presentation, he adapts quickly and handles questions brilliantly. At Barge, we are still talking about some of the insights he shared with our Executive Team.

VP - HR Barge

“We organize 34 events throughout the United States and have worked with hundreds of keynote speakers over the years. Gary Garfield is truly impressive; instead of reiterating sound bites and clichés about leadership, he speaks from a vast breadth of experience that is nearly unparalleled. As the former CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Gary understands that effective communication is crucial, and his speaking style reflects the practical application of it.”

Regional Director - Executive Functions Management

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