“If not us, who? If not now, when?” – President John F. Kennedy

The automotive care industry has entered a critical era. It’s hard to believe that a hundred years ago, only half of all?homes?in the U.S. had electricity. In 2030, half of all?cars?sold will be powered by electricity. At Bridgestone Retail Operations, we have the unique opportunity to lead in our industry’s essential evolution to meet the needs of tomorrow’s marketplace, tomorrow’s customers, tomorrow’s vehicles, and tomorrow’s teammates. Now is the time to ask ourselves, “what if?” and “why not?”

The people who built our great company once answered these questions with bold visions. The determined innovation from Shojiro Ishibashi and Harvey Firestone put us on the right path. Many, many decades later, we are honored to continue that storied journey. During our annual National Leadership Conference last week, we demonstrated how legacy endures and favors the courageous.

Before the event, I considered the?Limitless?future in front of us and reflected on visionary leaders like Shojiro, Harvey, and John F. Kennedy. While visiting Rice University in 1963, President Kennedy spoke directly to the spirit of our great nation, demonstrating that by believing we could put a man on the moon, we would - and so much more. His transformative leadership is the perfect paradigm for how impactful leaders, pivotal moments, and challenging times – from space exploration to the automotive care industry - call us to rise to the occasion, show up and be the best.?

As our field leadership team began to arrive in Orlando, the excitement was palpable and invigorating. For the first time since early 2020, teammates from across the country reunited, and it was apparent just how special this team truly is. Harvey once said, “our company is built on people,” and that continues to hold true. I am incredibly proud to work alongside this team of caring, compassionate, and committed individuals. This event was the perfect time to celebrate and recognize the best of our best.

In our awards ceremony, we recognized people like Scot East, our ASE Tech of the Year, who serves our customers with genuine care, accepting nothing less than greatness in his every pursuit. We celebrated people like Bob Edmunds, recipient of the 10th Bill Perdew Lifetime Achievement Award — a humble, trusting, and passionate leader who recently retired after nearly 40 years with our company. We honored people like Chuck Mitchell, our Promise to Care Award winner, who fulfills his role with greater purpose and deep passion. He is a mentor, leader, and advocate for his store team and embodies our culture and what it means to lead through action.?

After celebrating our teammates’ achievements and our company’s success, from record-breaking results to the nearly $3.6 million raised last year to support Boys & Girls Clubs of America, we laid out our big, ambitious plans for the future. In the spirit of our founders, we introduced our visionary path forward, “BSRO of the Future,” a strategic guidepost to evolve our business and lead in the next era of automotive care. BSRO of the Future is not just a program or a plan; it is a mindset and an attitude. It will not always be easy, but it is necessary.

As we work towards our vision for the future, the next several years will be a time of much growth and change for our organization, but the core of who we are will remain the same. We will continue to focus on the heart of our business - taking care of our customers in the neighborhoods we serve every day. We will continue to provide opportunities for our teammates to grow and build purpose-driven careers. We will remain committed to advancing the next generation of automotive technicians like Jose, who got his start at the Bridgestone-funded Maplewood High School Automotive Training Center and has developed his career at BSRO ever since. We will deliver on Bridgestone’s E8 Commitment through our sustainability initiatives showing care for the planet. Perhaps most importantly, our 20,000 teammates will continue to live and exemplify our Promise to Care for our customers, our communities and each other.?

The excitement from our conference served as the perfect launch pad for our future that will keep BSRO at the cutting edge of the automotive retail industry. The necessary work toward building the BSRO of the Future starts now. Our team across the country is up to the challenge, and together, we will accomplish great things with determination and perseverance. Because the time is now, and this team’s future is limitless.