Building a Winning Wholesale Tire Division With Douglas Kershaw of KAL Group

Gain Traction

Douglas Kershaw is the Executive Vice President of KAL Group, a freight and truck parts company with numerous divisions. Prior to joining KAL Group, Douglas had an extensive career in the tire industry, previously serving as President of BKT Tires in North America. With his diverse background spanning television broadcasting, the rubber industry, and various leadership roles, Douglas brings a wealth of experience to his current position at KAL Group, where he is responsible for establishing a new wholesale division focused on tires and parts for the agriculture, construction, and truck markets.

In this episode…

Launching a successful new wholesale division can be challenging, but it’s certainly possible if you follow the necessary steps and implement key elements.

According to Douglas Kershaw, from the KAL Group, you should start by building a strong, committed team and empowering them to make decisions as if it were their own business. He stresses the need for integrity, clear communication, and continuous improvement, even when facing the challenges of starting a new division. Douglas' five core principles — integrity, commitment, entrepreneurial thinking, teamwork, and never being satisfied — offer a framework for anyone to adopt as they seek to launch and grow a business or a career.

On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge gets Douglas' thoughts on launching a new wholesale division. Douglas shares his career journey, from a start in TV reporting to pivoting into the rubber industry and eventually becoming president of a tire company. He advocates for empowering a strong, committed team and how his diverse background has provided him with a unique perspective in the tire industry.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• Highlights of Douglas Kershaw’s early career in broadcast journalism interviewing basketball legends like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson
• Why Douglas pivoted from TV to the rubber industry, taking a chance with Dayco Products
• Leading the launch of a new wholesale tire and parts division, Tires and Parts of America
• The importance of integrity, commitment, entrepreneurial thinking, teamwork, and continuous improvement
• Why Douglas empowers his team to make decisions as if it were their own business
• How Douglas leveraged his broadcasting experience to lead and communicate effectively in the tire industry
• The importance of building a strong, trusted team to achieve success
• Why Douglas remains committed to continuous improvement, even after achieving success

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Douglas Kershaw on LinkedIn
• KAL Group
• Tires and Parts of America
• Michael Jordan
• Clyde Drexler
• KNF
• K&N
• Stripes
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn
• Tread Partners

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by Tread Partners.

At Tread Partners, we provide digital marketing for multi-location tire dealers and auto repair shops.

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Visit www.treadpartners.com or email [e-mail] to learn more.