Gary Garfield
- Former CEO of Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
- America’s Premier “Turnaround” CEO
- Responsible for Creating Positive Change in Corporate Culture of a U.S. Iconic Brand
- Expert on Business Culture, Corporate Change, Leadership, and Corporate Social Responsibility
Travels From
Tennessee
Gary Garfield Speaker Biography
Gary Garfield engages and educates audiences with the truly unique insight he gained first practicing law, and then turning around the financial performance of Bridgestone Americas, and the organization’s corporate culture. Through his innovative approach to changing the culture of the organization, Garfield changed the focus of the organization, drove innovation and collaboration, and broke down silos. The result: the company pulled out of its marketplace rut. Under Gary’s leadership, the company had record profits each year, growing profits by more than five-fold during his tenure, and outperforming the S&P 500 over that period.
Through is sharing of personal stories and leadership lessons, Garfield has established himself as an expert in creating change and improving corporate culture. He not only shares his decades of insight, but does it in a way that both captivates and motivates the audience, while ensuring that his messages and insight hammer home the key points senior management wants from a keynote speaker.
In 2010, Gary Garfield was promoted from being the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer to the CEO of Bridgestone Americas, a global company with over 55,000 employees operating on five continents. The old-line manufacturing company he was appointed to lead had been significantly underperforming for many years. During his six-year tenure, revenues grew by more than 30 percent to over $15 billion and profits increased fivefold, outperforming the S&P 500 over that time period. Cash flow went from negative to positive while overall company debt dramatically declined.
Gary led the transformation Bridgestone Americas from a manufacturing entity into a market leader. At the same time, the company operated as a true partner in the community with his strong stance on both corporate and environmental responsibility. Gary achieved these extraordinary results through a unique but straightforward approach to driving change, an approach that is applicable to just about every organization.
As a business keynote speaker, Gary shares his valuable insights and lessons learned to both educate and motivate the audience to achieve bigger and better things. He is authentic, honest, and straight forward, leaving audiences inspired and motivated. By the end of Gary’s talk, the audience will know what will work for them as they seek to take both their individual and group’s performance to the next level. As a consultant, Gary works closely with management to help it navigate the pitfalls and hurdles involved in cultural changes.
Prior to his achievements as the CEO, Gary served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Bridgestone. During that time, he helped the company survive the massive Ford Explorer – Firestone tire recall that started in August 2000. Through this experience, Gary also developed an extraordinary experience in crisis management.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Gary has been a guest speaker in classes at the Yale Management School, Wharton, Vanderbilt University, and Belmont University. Gary is a writer and op-ed contributor, a leader in pushing Nashville and Middle Tennessee to adopt a comprehensive mass transit system, on the board of Meharry Medical College and a member of the audit committee for the newly formed Center for Interoperability in Nashville, Tennessee.
To book business keynote speaker Gary Garfield, call Executive Speakers Bureau at (901) 754-9404.
Gary’s keynotes are both motivational and enlightening. He works closely with his clients to gain a deep understanding of their needs, and tailors his keynote to drive home the most salient messages.
For industry groups, he dramatically persuades its members both on the need to embrace change and the six key elements essential for successful change in their organization.
For a company’s leadership team, he helps them embrace senior management’s change agenda and explains what they must do to be successful in driving change.
For the broader organization, which is often resistant to change, Gary explains why change is essential, how they benefit by embracing senior management’s change agenda, and the consequences of resistance to change.
Culture First
What must a new CEO must do when its globally recognized brand has grown stagnant and the company is performing poorly? (Chris, the first thing we did was set high expectations, made profitability the focus of the entire organization, and created line of sight on business performance)
Gary Garfield, former CEO of Bridgestone Americas, focused on changing the culture. Garfield brought innovative means to answering the age-old questions of how does a company break down silos, better handle conflict within the organization, and break out of its rut. By answering these questions in a new and fresh way, Garfield took Bridgestone Americas and its 55,000 employees to a 13% increase in revenue and increased profitability by 500% in six years. Garfield led the charge of how to create a better environment for people to work in and how leadership listened to its team members. After hearing this keynote, audiences will have new ideas about how to improve their culture, why it is important to look at how your employees view their jobs, and how to spark innovation in your company.
Leaders Make The Necessary Changes
Turning around a company that has had years of low profits, poor cash flow, and stagnant growth to six years of record breaking profits does not happen by accident. Gary Garfield achieved just this at Bridgestone Americas. Profits grew 500% during his six years as the CEO. In this keynote, Garfield will talk about his journey of leading an iconic brand through explosive growth and profit by changing the focus of the organization, breaking down silos, and changing a tire manufacturer into a marketing company. With a thoughtful approach, audiences will be able to glean takeaways for whatever change their business may be facing.
A Company as a Community Partner
The marriage of a tire company CEO and green initiatives seems unlikely, however that is what Gary Garfield former CEO of Bridgestone Americas brought together under his leadership. While serving as CEO, Gary oversaw the reduction of CO2 admission in Bridgestone plants as well as becoming the first tire company to recycle 100% of its waste in three of its plants. In this personal and forward thinking talk, Gary will show leaders how corporate social responsibility does not have to hurt the bottom line. This is evidence by Bridgestone Americas turning a record profit each year Garfield was the CEO. A company is part of a community therefore, it must be part of a better tomorrow.
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September 3, 2019