The automotive world saw the passing of another giant with the death of Francois Michelin yesterday. He headed the tire company started by his grandfather for nearly half a century and in the process helped to drive it to the pole position it occupies today. Of his many achievements, Michelin will be most remembered for making the radial tire, the world standard.
Michelin started at the dawn of the automobile era, producing pneumatic tires designed by Francois’s grandfather Edouard. Up till the mid 50s, Michelin was barely in the top 10 of tire manufacturers. But its work on the radial tire started to see dividends and slowly took the company to the head of the pack. The radial tire was a key innovation because it meant more ground contact, less heat buildup, greater comfort and most of all, longer tire life.
Francois began his career at Michelin on the shop floor under an assumed name, He worked in different roles across the company before becoming co-managing partner in 1955. By the end of his tenure in 2002, Michelin was the largest tire manufacturer in the world. Under his leadership, the company began to expand opening 25 factories outside its native France between 1960 and 1979. Michelin also pushed for the use of radial tires in heavy machinery, motorcycles and airplanes.
One of his big strategic decisions was to get the company out of the car making business when they sold their stake in Citroen to Peugeot SA in 1976. The company had been a major shareholder for nearly four decades.
Said to be a smart talent manager, Michelin once said in an interview that his ears were “his best qualification”. “You have to listen from the right and the left to grasp any situation,” he said. In fact, one of his key hires was a young Carlos Ghosn who stayed at Michelin for 18 years.
His legacy will be many things. Aside from a global company with 112,000 employees worldwide, he will be remembered for a food guide and one of the most recognizable icon in the automotive world; Bibendum – The Michelin Man.