Lipscomb University’s College of Business has named longtime Tractor Supply Company executive Greg Sandfort a CEO-in-residence beginning in January.

Sandfort served as chief executive officer of Tractor Supply May 2016-January 2020 and as president and chief executive officer of the company December 2012-May 2016. He has served as strategic adviser of Tractor Supply Company since January 2020 and as a member of the board of directors since February 2013.

In his role at Lipscomb, Sandfort will share his experiences and expertise with undergraduate and graduate students in their capstone business courses.

Before his work with Tractor Supply Company, Sandfort served Michaels Stores, Inc. as president and chief operating officer March 2006-August 2007 and as executive vice president – general merchandise manager January 2004-February 2006.

He has more than 40 years of experience in the retail industry.

Bridgestone Americas announces promotions

Bridgestone Americas has promoted Bridget Neal to senior vice president, logistics and supply chain management, Bridgestone Americas. Rob Seibert has been named to succeed Neal as president of the company’s Off-the-Road tire business.

Neal will oversee the company’s global supply chain, designing and implementing supply and distribution strategies that enable business growth and improve product cycle time.

She joined Bridgestone in 2002 as a supply planning and sourcing engineer. She accepted her current role as president of OTR in 2017. Under Neal’s leadership, the OTR business achieved record performance and successfully delivered the global launch of MasterCore, a world-class giant mining tire engineered for ultrahigh durability.

Neal is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Seibert will have accountability for all aspects of the OTR business, including strategic planning, sales, marketing, engineering and global support. He will also play a key role in developing go-to-market strategies that drive growth for the overall Commercial Group at Bridgestone and support the company’s vision to become a sustainable solutions company.

Seibert joined Bridgestone in 2015 and has served in marketing and sales roles of increasing responsibility in the OTR business. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin.

FirstBank adds private banking manager

FirstBank has added experienced banker Leslie Godfrey as a private banking relationship manager at its Green Hills financial center.

Godfrey will work with existing personal and business customers and help develop new relationships in the Nashville community.

Before joining the team at FirstBank, Godfrey served as a financial adviser at a large regional bank in East Tennessee, where she developed a niche portfolio of businesses focusing on the medical and dental communities.

Godfrey is a graduate of East Tennessee State University with a degree in finance. In Knoxville, she sat on the boards of Junior Achievement of East Tennessee, Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville and March of Dimes, as well as serving on various committees for the United Way of Greater Knoxville. She also is the president of Junior League Knoxville.

Affinity Technology Partners adds 2 IT Pros

Matt Moss and Paul Shelton have joined Affinity Technology Partners, a managed IT firm.

Moss joins the projects team as systems engineer. Moss is a certified ITIL. He spent 14 years at Deloitte as a senior system administrator. He is a 1992 graduate of Lipscomb University with a degree in business management and marketing.

Shelton joins the support team as systems engineer. Previously with Cardinal Health as a systems engineer, he is a graduate of ITT Tech with an A.A.S. in computer network systems.