Management Team

The management team at Eastland Tire brings together industry leaders to serve the mining and construction industry needs for OTR products.

Mr. James (Jim) Berresse, President & Chief Executive Officer

Prior to becoming Eastland Tire’s President & Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Berresse spent thirteen years with Phelps Dodge Corporation most recently as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbian Chemicals Company from 2002 through 2006. Columbian Chemicals is global manufacturer of carbon black and was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Corporation until March of 2006 when Columbian was acquired by DC Chemical. Mr. Berresse also served on the Senior Management Team of Phelps Dodge Corporation from 2003 until the sale of Columbian in 2006.

Berresse went to Columbian in 1998 as Columbian’s Chief Financial Officer from Phelps Dodge Industries (a division of Phelps Dodge Corporation), where he was Vice President of Business Development. Berresse also held the position of Managing Director of Phelps Dodge Mining (Pty) Limited in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1995 and 1996. He joined Phelps Dodge in 1993 as Director of Business Analysis and Planning for Phelps Dodge Mining Company.

Berresse formerly held various management positions with America West Airlines from 1985-1993, including Senior Director, Strategic Planning and Director of Financial Planning.

Berresse holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Arizona State University.

Mr. Jorge Paramo, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
North America, South America and Europe

Mr. Paramo joined Eastland Tire in April of 2008. Prior to joining Eastland he spent six years at Michelin, most recently as Vice President of Michelin’s North America Earthmover Division where he had overall P&L responsibility for the division.  Before joining the North American Earthmover Division, Paramo spent over three years in Spain as President and Managing Director of Michelin’s Euromaster Company where oversaw the company’s two hundred tire service centers. Paramo joined Michelin in 2002 in the Tire Centers division.

Prior to joining Michelin, Paramo was Director of Sales and Marketing for Latin America with Lear Corporation, a global tier-one supplier in the automotive industry.  Before that he was with United Technologies’ Automotive Division as General Manager of a large manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico. He also served as a Financial Planner and Controller in Corporate Finance at United Technologies’ headquarters.

Paramo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Universisdad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and an MBA from the Darden School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. He is fluent in English and French in addition to his native language Spanish.

Mr. Martin Fester, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Australia, Indonesia, Africa and the Middle East
Eastland Tire, Australia

Mr. Fester joined Eastland Tire Australia in July of 2008. Prior to joining Eastland he spent ten years with Michelin’s Earthmover Division, most recently as Commercial Director of Indonesia and Global Account Manager for BHP Billiton for Michelin Australia. From 2002 through 2007, Fester held a variety of positions with the global Earthmover Division in France including Commercial Director of Mining for Africa and the Middle East and Global Market Development Manager and Global Product Development Manager of the worldwide Mining Group. He joined Michelin Australia’s Earthmover Division in 1998 as its Market Manager Oceania.

Prior to joining Michelin, Fester held a variety of senior engineering and human resource positions spanning a period of nine years with Toyota Motor Corporation of Australia, including its Learning and Development Consultant to Saudi Arabia and Senior Project Engineer of Machine Maintenance.

Fester holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Master’s degree in Enterprise Innovation from The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.  He is fluent in both English and French.