Apollo Tyres has appointed Mathias Heimann as its president of Europe & Americas and CEO of Apollo Vredestein BV.  Making the announcement, Neeraj Kanwar, vice-chairman and MD, Apollo Tyres, said, "Mathias' rich experience in the tyre industry in particular and in multi-cultural environments in general will be of immense value to Apollo as we consolidate our current operations in Europe and prepare for the next phase of growth which will be driven by the already announced greenfield plant in Eastern Europe."

Mathias, 48, has over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and production. His began his career within the automotive industry with OE suppliers as well as retail and service organisations for international automobile companies in Europe and Asia.  After finishing secondary school and military service, he studied in Germany (at the Witten/Herdecke University) and the US (at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and holds a degree in economics. Mathias will be based out of the company’s European Operations HQ in Enschede, The Netherlands.  

Apollo Tyres had announced earlier that it will invest euro 475 million (Rs 3,713 crore) over five years to establish a new facility at near Gyongyoshalasz, Hungary. The greenfield unit will produce 5.5 million passenger car and light truck (PCLT) tyres and 675,000 heavy commercial vehicle tyres per annum. Both Apollo and Vredestein-branded tyres will be manufactured for the European market, and the output will complement Apollo Tyres’ existing facility in The Netherlands.