BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
SRAM’s Tibor Gijssen has been promoted to European aftermarket sales director, reporting to John Nedeau, global sales vice-president.
Gijssen’s new role comes after two years as a key member of the global continuous improvement (CI) team. He steps in as Ian Young has moved to the sales operations role focused on channel strategy development.
Following the appointment, Nedeau said: “Combining his sales and CI experience, Tibor is a great fit for the position of European aftermarket sales director.
“Tibor will strengthen our consultative approach with aftermarket customers and solve for changing channel dynamics to meet those needs with partnered solutions to satisfy the rider.”
Gijssen joined SRAM in 2010 as an aftermarket account manager. Although initially focusing on Eastern European customers, he soon extended his sales approach to the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland); which today is a leading aftermarket territory approaching equivalent annual sales to North America.
He relocated from Nijkerk, Netherlands to SRAM’s European headquarters in Schweinfurt, Germany in 2016, where he was a contributor to numerous projects and played a role in increasing direct business with German online retailers.
In 2021, Gijssen broadened his horizons within SRAM and joined the continuous improvement team. This experience provided him with expanded operational insights, structured problem-solving skills, and team methodology for improving processes to serve SRAM’s customers better.
Gijssen said: “I am really excited to return to aftermarket sales and to serve the team as the European aftermarket sales director.
“My continuous improvement assignment has taught me a lot and the learning journey continues daily. My goal is to bring the CI mindset, principles and tools into our sales processes and teams.”
Gijssen’s promotion is the latest senior leadership change for the brand, following Rob Cappucci’s appointment as director of advocacy and industry partnerships.
