Date: October 20, 2009

Click here to RSVP

Time:

5:30PM Wine and Cheese

6:15PM Speaker

7PM Connections Event at the Capital Grille.

Location: the Law Offices of McGuire Woods, 201 N. Tryon St. 30th Floor

Pre-registration is required due to building security. Bring a photo ID. RSVP by clicking the link above.

Cost: Free to members. $20 per guest.

The Connections Event is cash bar. Hors d'oeurvres are provided. 

Questions? Please email Grace Hayes at grace@hbscharlotte.com

Continental Tire North America (CTNA), with its Americas operations headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina, is a company of Germany-based Continental AG.  Continental is the fourth largest tire supplier in the World and is the market leader in Europe for passenger and light truck tires. More than 30 percent of all new European cars leave the factory fitted with Continental tires. In NAFTA, CTNA is the fourth largest supplier of original equipment (OE) tires with approximately 12% of all passenger cars and light trucks produced with Continental fitments. CTNA currently supplies original equipment fitments for General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, VW, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and others. Growth in Original Equipment is also in the company’s plan for South America.  

CTNA is also aggressively growing its share of the replacement tire market in the Americas. Earlier this year, the company acquired Ecuador-based ERCO Tire, as a move to further strengthen their presence in Latin America, a region that is experiencing faster growth in the tire markets despite tough economic conditions. The flagship Continental brand competes in the marketplace against Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear. CTNA also offers the General Tire brand which competes against second tier brands such as BFGoodrich, Cooper Tires and others. In Mexico, CTNA also enjoys strong brand recognition of the Euzkadi brand and in Latin America also competes with third tier brands.  

CTNA boasts over 15,000 independent dealer outlets throughout the Americas. Their promotional kits are distributed to over 10,000 points-of-sale in the United States alone. Continental is sold throughout the US primarily through independently operated retailers including large national chains such as Sears, Tire Rack, Discount Tire and many other regional operators throughout North America. In Latin America, the company enjoys controlled distribution via the ERCO Tires retail chain in Ecuador, and partners with both mono-supplier and multi-brand dealers in the rest of Latin America, along with supermarkets and car dealerships. 
CTNA has experienced double digit growth in the Americas region in the recent years and continues with an aggressive growth plan for the future.

Mr. Matthias Schoenberg currently serves as CEO of Continental Tire of the Americas. Since 2006, he is responsible for the tire business of Continental AG  in North and South America, his operational responsibility encompasses the replacement market for the Passenger and Light Truck Tires, i.e. the tire sales to Tire Dealers. With plants in the USA, Mexico, Brazil and Ecuador, CTNA pursues a clear strategy for profitable growth. 

Matthias Schoenberg is a German citizen from the North of Germany and spent two years as a bank trainee in Hamburg. He continued his eduction of Business Administration at the University of Bayreuth in Bavaria, Germany. (Diplom Kaufmann). Previous positions include 4 years at a private equity company, where he spent 2 years as a senior consultant and 2 years running an affiliate company producing Musical instruments. Matthias joined Continental in 1998 working in Corporate Audit at Headquaters in Hanover, Germany. He was promoted to Director of Finance in Portugal in 2001 and Managing Director of Continental Tire of Mexico in Mexico City in 2004.

He lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife Caroline and his 3 daughters.