From a press release:

PIRELLI-METZELER EXPANDS NORTH AMERICAN MARKETING AND TECH STAFFS

(Rome, GA) Pirelli Tire North America, the domestic parent of the Pirelli and Metzeler motorcycle tire brands in the U.S. and Canada, has expanded its marketing and tech-support staffs, and created a new marketing position.

Chris Wall joins Pirelli-Metzeler as the new North American Marketing Manager after 10 years at Yamaha in marketing, sales, and PR positions in both the motorcycle and golf cart divisions. A former WERA road racer, Wall says “I’ve ridden street bikes on Metzelers almost exclusively for 20 years now and raced WERA on Pirellis. But even with all of that seat-of-the-pants experience, there is so much to learn about the way Metzeler and Pirelli make these things, so much technical information. It’s fascinating. The challenge excites me very much.”

Jeff Adams is the new Pirelli MX Product Manager, responsible for building the brand in MX and off-road, as well as technical sales support. He’s been riding since “I was about six years old. Then, about seven years ago, I started riding on the street with my Honda Hawk GT. I’ve held a racing license for the past three years, doing endurance and sprint racing with WERA. Currently, there are four bikes in the garage and another on the way.” Prior to joining Pirelli-Metzeler, Adams worked in sales training, and in international sales and marketing.

Moving into a new position is Alberto Warburg, the former Marketing Manager. Warburg is now in charge of both U.S. OE sales, and marketing and sales for the Canadian market. He joined Pirelli-Metzeler in the U.S. three years ago, coming from a marketing management position at Unilever, one of Europe’s largest consumer-products companies. An avid sport-touring rider, he claims he’s still looking for the kind of alpine roads he loved so much in his native Italy, “although Route 33 outside of Ojai, California comes pretty close.”

Jeff Johnston has returned to his position as Senior Technical Sales Support, after a half-season stint in 2003 in his former position as Race Manager. A nine-year veteran of Pirelli-Metzeler, Johnston is often lauded for his extensive technical knowledge by both dealers and consumers.

According to Chris Wall, all of the changes send a clear message of Pirelli-Metzeler’s commitment to, and investment in, the North American market. Wall said the evidence isn’t just in the new people and positions, but in the company’s increased presence at major motorcycle rally and race events, its greatly increased investment in American racing series, its new custom-designed Metzeler and Pirelli trucks that tour the events, and the presence of Pirelli’s international racing management in North American racing. “It’s all focused on building awareness and growing sales through greatly-improved customer service and accessibility at both the dealer and consumer levels,” Wall concluded.