How GRI Tires Rebuilt Its North American Sales Team with Talent Traction
Case Study · Specialty Tires · North America
How GRI Tires Rebuilt Its North American Sales Team with Talent Traction
When Ydo Doornbos joined GRI as Director of North America, he was tasked with rebuilding the organization and preparing it for future growth. He brought three decades of specialty tire experience and strong contacts but limited time and gaps in key regions. Talent Traction stepped in as an extension of GRI to identify and place the right regional sales leadership without slowing the business down.
Ydo lacked the time to run full due diligence and didn't have the right connections in every region he needed to build out.
Prior success together in the specialty tire market meant GRI could skip a long vendor search and trust a partner that already knew the space.
GRI hired a Regional Sales Manager who joined in July and, in Ydo's words, is doing an “outstanding job.”
The Challenge
After nearly 30 years in the specialty tire market, Ydo knew a lot of good people and had strong relationships from his previous roles. But stepping into GRI, he had to rebuild the North American organization quickly and didn't have the time to run a detailed search while also leading the business.
On top of the time pressure, not all of his contacts were in the specific regions where GRI needed coverage. That combination limited bandwidth and gaps in regional networks created a real risk of delaying critical hires and slowing growth.
Why GRI Chose Talent Traction
Ydo had already worked with Talent Traction in a previous role and had seen the results in the specialty tire market. When timing pressure at GRI increased, instead of running a full search for multiple recruitment firms, he went with a partner whose reputation and industry knowledge he trusted.
“Instead of doing a full qualification of different companies you guys having the experience in the specialty tire market, it was an easy decision to recommend you to HR.”
How Talent Traction Ran the Search
1. Structured Kickoff & Online Questionnaire
The search started with a kickoff conversation between Ydo and Talent Traction to clarify what GRI needed in a Regional Sales Manager experience, territory coverage, travel expectations, and how the role would support future growth.
That was followed by an in-depth online questionnaire that helped translate those expectations into a clear, structured profile. Ydo described the process as “very structured, very professional,” and said the questions even surfaced needs he hadn't fully articulated yet.
2. Weekly Pipeline Updates & Tight Filtering
Throughout the search, Ydo received weekly summaries showing:
- How many candidates had been approached.
- How many responded and progressed.
- Which profiles Talent Traction recommended moving forward with and why.
That filtering ensured GRI didn't waste time interviewing people who were unlikely to make the cut. Any bottlenecks or questions were handled quickly, with Irena “always available” when something needed attention.
Outcome
Within a short period, Talent Traction surfaced a small group of strong candidates for GRI to interview. Two of them advanced to the final stages. One ultimately chose a different opportunity, while the other accepted GRI's offer and started in early July.
That hire is now performing at a very high level. Ydo describes him as doing an “outstanding job,” and the process of working with Talent Traction as “very easy” and seamless from outreach to onboarding.
Key Takeaways from GRI
- For senior leaders, the real constraint is time. Having a partner who can own the search while you run the business is critical.
- Industry-specific experience matters. Talent Traction's track record in specialty tires meant GRI didn't need to educate a generalist recruiter on the basics.
- Ydo doesn't choose partners based on fees; he chooses based on trust and whether they can truly act as an extension of GRI and represent the company well in the market.
“It's not about costs or fees. It's about, can you work with the people that are becoming your extension to find the right people?”
Need to rebuild a team without pausing the business?
If you're leading growth in a specialty or industrial market and don't have the time or reach to run a full search, Talent Traction can act as an extension of your team bringing you vetted, role-ready candidates while you stay focused on customers and strategy.