Jean-Denis Perche joins the Middle East and Africa region as General Manager, bringing with him a wealth of sales and marketing knowledge with ten years of experience at the Goodyear-Dunlop Group.
Perche’s focus is clear – strengthening existing relationships, building on the technical experience that exists within the region and a keen understanding of the diversity that permeates the Middle East and Africa. “This is a strong, emerging market where you need to tailor your approach to sales and product from country to country. So many companies do not appreciate the diversity of the region; the way you look at United Arab Emirates needs to be different than Saudi Arabia and even more so when you travel further to the likes of Morocco, Egypt and Ghana,” commented Perche. “We’re selling an integral component of a vehicle to drivers all over the world and to be the best at what you do, you have to understand your customer.”
The region’s new head has displayed numerous successes over his tenure with the tire group. An important element in his previous role as Sales and Marketing Director was driving change across the organization in a bid to continuously develop service levels. “We are a huge company, and there are some things that have been done the same way for years and sometimes those ideas need to be updated and recalibrated to get the best results, just like tires,” added Perche.
Focus and consistency are key elements in Perche’s vision to be the market leader in the region, quoting Jim Collins’ 2011 book Great By Choice and the “20-Mile March” concept as an important strategy in the region. “The region is all about growth and change. We’re going to be seeing plenty of both over the next few years and the plan is to be consistent in our approach – make sure we are checking off milestones and be motivated consistently, not just in times of economic growth,” commented Perche.
Jean-Denis Perche, is a consummate ‘tire man’. He started his career in Germany in 1996 at Euromaster as Marketing Manager. In 1998 he took over the Marketing Director Role before moving to join Dunlop in 2002 as Pricing and Business Intelligence manager in Germany. In 2004 he came back to Goodyear Dunlop Tires France as Brand Manager Dunlop. He then took over the Marketing Director position in 2007 before moving on to Head the Consumer Tires Division in April 2010 until his recent move to the MEA region.
An avid sailor, Perche loves the open seas as much as the tarmac where he trains for and takes part in marathons regularly.