Goodyear, Gretzky, and Global Growth: Inside Marco Molinari’s Leadership Story

In this conversation, Marco Molinari shares his extensive experience in global business, highlighting his successful marketing campaigns at Goodyear, including a notable celebrity endorsement with Wayne Gretzky. He reflects on his upbringing in Sweden, his education at Thunderbird, and the lessons learned throughout his career, particularly at Goodyear and HNI Corporation. Marco emphasizes the importance of understanding local markets, the value of international business, and the need for continuous learning and adaptation in a globalized world.https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcomolinari1/BioMarco Molinari is a true global business leader. Born in Sweden, he studied in the US and is fluent in English, German, Italian and Swedish. He spent 12 years in Europe before moving permanently to the US where he has spent 25 years in Fortune 1000 corporations with industry leading brands and product portfolios. He has worked in multi-channel consumer, commercial, OEM, retail and wholesale markets in North America, Latin America, Europe, China and India. He has operating experience in R&D, sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution in diverse B2B and B2C companies, including HNI Corporation, a $2.2B Fortune 1000 market leader in office furniture with manufacturing and distribution across North America and Asia, and sales in 50+ countries. He was a Senior Executive with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, a global leader in the tire industry with50+ facilities and 1.2K repair centers in 20+ countries. He has managed P&Ls up to $1B and delivered growth in revenue, profit, market share, and corporate value through business creation, M&A, turnarounds, and operational improvement. Marco led aggressive expansion into India and China where he focused on select market development and product/brand differentiation against global competitors. He established the US export division and built strategic partnerships and distributor relationships in Latin America, the Caribbean, Middle East and South America. He was part of the executive leadership team that positioned HNI as one of Fortune’s “Most Admired Companies,” Forbes’ “Best Big Companies,” and Industry Week’s “Best Manufacturing Companies.”   Marco has lead and developed high performing teams across the globe. From the moment Marco was selected out of business school for an international management development program, he understood that all great things are accomplished through the recruitment, development, and leadership of high performance teams that are aligned around the strategic priorities of the company and successful execution across the globe. He works effectively at all levels as evidenced by his early appointment as Chairman of Deutsche Goodyear Holdings Supervisory Board that served as a liaison between corporate leaders and German Works Councils to influence positive labor relations and performance. Marco has an international education. He earned an MBA in International Business from Thunderbird, a BSBA in Marketing from St. Louis University where he is in the University Hall of Fame as a 1999 Distinguished Alumnus, and has an Associate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Aso Gymnasium in Sweden. He has taken advantage of additional leadership development initiatives by participating in Northwestern University’s CEO Perspectives Program, the Center for Creative Leadership, the Mahler External Executive Leadership Program; as well as the Kaizen Institute in Japan. Marco believes in giving back. He has served on the Advisory Board of the University of Iowa, College of Engineering, and the St. Ambrose University Business School Advisory Board.This podcast is sponsored by Freshwater Investments