COMPANY OVERVIEW

Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and Bridgestone Europe, Middle East and Africa (BSEMEA), headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, operate collectively as a “Bridgestone West” strategic region. This region services the strategic business needs of teams across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. BSAM and BSEMEA are subsidiaries of Bridgestone Corporation, globally headquartered in Japan. Bridgestone and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand products and solutions to address the needs of a broad range of customers and industries.

POSITION SUMMARY

Bridgestone Canada Inc. (BSCA), a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), is hiring a Counsel to provide legal support for its Canadian operations. This role, based in Mississauga, Ontario (3 days/week in-office), will report to the Division General Counsel, North American Business Units, within the BSAM Law Department.
The Counsel will advise both BSCA’s corporate office in Mississauga and its manufacturing plant in Joliette, Quebec. Key responsibilities include:
Contract Management: Reviewing, negotiating, and advising on customer-facing contracts for tire distribution, as well as procurement contracts, equipment leases, and IT agreements for the manufacturing plant.
Compliance: Ensuring compliance with Canadian laws, including the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Supply Chains Act and Bill 96.
Corporate Governance: Serving as Secretary for the BSCA Board of Directors, assisting with board meeting organization and operations.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Working with internal departments (Tax, Trade Compliance, Logistics, Marketing, HR) to address legal issues.
Labor & Employment Support: Collaborating with BSAM’s labor and employment counsel and external counsel on plant-related employment matters.
Government Relations: Advising on discussions with government agencies concerning plant operations.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent law degree from an accredited institution.
• Must be a member in good standing of the Bar in the Province of Ontario..
• At least three years of transactional and corporate law experience with a strong background in contact law, commercial transactions and negotiations.
• Good business acumen with the ability to identify, assess, balance and manage risk.
• Impeccable integrity, good judgement, strong analytical skills, creative and practical problem solving.
• Ability to build strong relationships and establish trust.
• Ability to manage a diverse and complex workload.
• Ability to lead and influence others.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Building a Strategic Business Partner relationship with decisionmakers in the company’s home office location in Mississauga and manufacturing operations in Joliette by advising on legal and business issues in a manner that favors clear communication over legalese thereby allowing them to effectively weigh their business strategies against legal risk.
• Providing company leadership with cross-functional advice on a broad range of legal, regulatory and compliance matters, with a focus on corporate law, as well providing legal advice to all levels of the organization on strategic and legal issues, including vendor and customer agreements, compliance and regulatory matters, HR-related issues and board and entity governance.
• Prepare and conduct training on relevant topics as required.
• Drafting, reviewing, revising and negotiating a wide variety of contracts related to the distribution of BSCA’s tires and other products, including distribution agreements with BSCA’s independent dealers, supply agreements with customers and fleet businesses who wish to equip their vehicles with our tires and dealer and wholesaler agreements for independent dealers who want to use BSCA’s TireConnect platform.
• Developing an understanding of BSCA’s various businesses and use that understanding to develop practical legal solutions that both protect the company and reflect the way the company’s business is organized.
• Participating in the selection, retention and evaluation of outside counsel, providing direct supervision and management on certain matters.
• Assisting in forecasting and managing legal spending budgets and assist in the reporting, tracking and analysis of such spending.
• Engaging actively and collaboratively with other Law Department colleagues to secure specialized legal support where appropriate.
• Contributing to a culture of compliance by advising BSCA on matters of compliance and developing a plan for full participation and support of BATO in all compliance activities and initiatives.

At Bridgestone, what really matters is to foster co-creation opportunities and empowering you to be creative and curious to make mobility safer, more efficient, and more sustainable for future generations. Whatever role you fill, when you represent Bridgestone, you are a valued teammate, and part of our larger mission to “Serve Society with Superior Quality”, for that, we offer you more than just a competitive compensation; we will provide you:

• A supportive and engaging onboarding experience to ensure a smooth transition into our team.
• The opportunity to develop and grow, through training and regular mentorship.
• Corporate Social Responsibility activities.
• A truly global, dynamic and challenging work environment.
• Agility and work/life effectiveness and your long-term well-being.
• A diverse and inclusive team