Rubber Meets Risk: Lessons from John Baldwin of Discount Tire

Jun 3, 2025

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Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

Justin interviews John Baldwin of Discount Tire. Justin and John explore risk management topics, including Tire Safety Month, tire safety education of customers, and the tire selection tool he developed, Treadwell. John shares information about ongoing projects at Discount Tire and also his work on the board of the Tire Recycling Foundation.

Listen to gain awareness of how tire selection can be a safety factor in your ERM program.

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About RIMS and RIMScast.

[:17] About this episode of RIMScast. Our guest is John Baldwin of Discount Tire. He's joining us for National Safety Month and National Tire Safety Month here in June 2025. We're going to learn about the risk tool that he developed at Discount Tire.

[:49] RIMS-CRMP Workshops! The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Workshop will be presented in conjunction with NAIT on June 10th and 11th. Register by June 9th. That course will be led by former RIMS President, Nowell Seaman.

[1:11] Links to these courses can be found on the Certification Page of RIMS.org and through this episode's show notes.

[1:18] Virtual Workshops! On June 12th, Pat Saporito will host "Managing Data for ERM", and she will return on June 26th to present the very popular new course, "Generative AI for Risk Management".

[1:35] A link to the full schedule of virtual workshops can be found on the RIMS.org/education and RIMS.org/education/online-learning pages. A link is also in this episode's show notes.

[1:47] We have a special new 12-week virtual workshop course, The Advanced Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Certificate Program, instructed by James Lam, one of the most famous Chief Risk Officers in the world!

[2:04] He will lead an intensive 12-week program, beginning July 16th, bi-weekly until September 2025. Registration closes on July 7th.

[2:17] James will join us next week to discuss this program and his ERM philosophy. Check out the link in this episode's show notes and the Education page of RIMS.org. Register today before we reach virtual capacity!

[2:33] On with the show! It's our first episode of June 2025. That means that it is National Safety Month here in the U.S. and also Tire Safety Month. I was delighted to book today's guest, John Baldwin, PhD. He is the Chief Product and Technical Officer of Discount Tire.

[2:56] He developed a risk tool for Discount Tire called Treadwell. This is the company's personalized tire recommendation tool.

[3:05] Treadwell utilizes extensive real-world testing data, including nearly a million tread depth measurements annually and evaluations of dozens of new tire models each year.

[3:17] John is also a member of the Enterprise Risk Committee at Discount Tire, so we will also learn about his risk philosophies and his efforts to bolster sustainability when it comes to tires, tire manufacturing, and tire recycling.

[3:33] Interview! John Baldwin, welcome to RIMScast!

[3:52] John says risk management is like safety. You incorporate it in every decision you make. It's good to make it part of the daily oxygen.

[4:10] John started consulting with Discount Tire in 2007 and became full-time in 2012.

[4:25] John is a Senior Vice President and Chief Product and Technical Strategist. He's responsible for the fitment guide on the website. Discount Tire measures each vehicle it can and puts that in the fitment guide.

[4:56] They consider product quality and performance. They test tires, wheels, and lug nuts, before offering them for sale. John's background is technical.

[5:10] John is also in charge of sustainability and government affairs.

[5:24] John has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a PhD in polymer science, the study of plastics and rubber. He was at 3M for a lot of years working on filter media for filter masks, which had a resurgence 25 years after he left.

[5:49] John went to automotive working in adhesives. He was hired by Ford. He was at Ford when the Ford Firestone recall happened. He got drafted onto the Root Cause Team, to find out what was going on with the tires because of his background.

[6:08] John worked in advanced manufacturing on a cross-functional team.

[6:22] John's advice to folks coming up in a company is "Saying No is career-limiting." He had said No a lot, at the beginning of his career. When he started saying Yes, things changed.

[6:38] Coming from the larger companies where he had worked, John says the vibe at family-owned Discount Tire is an entrepreneurial spirit. There's a lot less bureaucracy. You go talk to people to get things done. It's very comfortable for John.

[6:58] John says Discount Tire is for everyone but the people who thrive here are more self-starting, think it out, and occasionally color outside the lines. It's nice. You learn a lot.

[7:13] John has a small group of about 25 people. They are cohorts of the risk group. The risk group collects and manages thought processes and information. The people who own the risks have to take care of them. The risk group shares a framework for them to manage risks.

[8:23] John is on the Enterprise Risk Committee. It's a group of the different functional areas, Technical Fitment, Real Estate, IT, Cybersecurity, Store Management, Product Quality, Legal, HR, and other areas from around the corporation represented.

[8:52] The Enterprise Risk Committee is one level below the Steering Committee. They use a tool called Riskonnect. They analyze and bring the risks to the Steering Committee. Justin and John first connected through the last Riskonnect webinar!

[9:46] There are technical issues in managing the stores, including customer safety. Customer safety is a founding philosophy at Discount Tire. Customer safety is the first consideration.

[10:21] When John first came on board at Discount Tire, it was after the Firestone Tire recall and Discount Tire focused on tire quality. Everyone at Purchasing hated him for being "Dr. No." He told them: Let's put a process together where we validate whom we're buying from.

[10:51] He said, we validate the quality of the tires and wheels that we're buying and that frees you up. We could entertain buying from people we would never have entertained buying from because they meet our criteria. Suddenly, it goes from closing the box to expanding the box.

[11:07] That's how we have to get people thinking. Once you have the process down, it unburdens you. It allows you to take more risks because you have a way of assessing what the risk is and doing something about it.

[11:34] June is Tire Safety Month, promoted by the NHTSA. John is planning on a visit there next week. Tire Safety Month is an opportunity to engage and ask customers: Have you looked at your tires? Do you know what your air pressure is? Discount Tire does free air checks and fills.

[12:20] One of the number one things for safety is making sure you have plenty of air in your tires. Most people don't think about it or check it. Talk with customers about tire tread depth and why there are treads.

[12:54] Tire Safety Month is June because school is over and people will be taking road trips. Be aware of your tires. Check your air pressure and tread depth. The tread is essential for driving in rain or snow so you don't hydroplane and you can brake properly. Get your tires checked.

[13:47] These things matter. There's a reason tires are designed the way they are. The public generally doesn't know. When John started working in tires he had no idea they came in different sizes. Everybody has a first day at work.

[14:26] People generally don't change tires on their own, because you need a machine.

[14:34] Plug Time! RIMS Webinars! On June 5th, Zywave joins us to discuss "Today's Escalating Risk Trajectory: What's the Cause and What's the Solution?".

[14:49] On June 17th, Origami Risk returns to present "Strategic Risk Financing in an Unstable Economy: Leveraging Technology for Efficiency and Cost Reduction".

[15:00] More webinars will be announced soon and added to the RIMS.org/Webinars page. Go there to register. Registration is complimentary for RIMS members.

[15:11] Are you a summer intern and interested in learning more about career opportunities in the insurance industry? Are you based in the Greater Chicago area? If so, join Chicago RIMS in a free event sponsored by Origami Risk.

[15:29] Students and insurance professionals will come together to explore the wide variety of career paths in insurance and the captive industry. This event will provide you with valuable insights into the industry and allow you to start building your network with peers in the area.

[15:44] This is an opportunity to learn from industry experts and kickstart your career in insurance. Register at ChicagoRIMS.org and mark your calendar for this free event on July 10th at 3:30 p.m. at 222 N LaSalle, STE 2100 in Chicago, IL.

[16:04] Let's Return to Our Conversation with John Baldwin of Discount Tire!

[16:23] John points out mistakes in tire safety and maintenance. Are you overloading your vehicle? If you pull a trailer, are you loading the trailer correctly? Are you overdriving your abilities in bad weather? It's not about going fast, it's about stopping fast and being able to steer.

[16:57] Be mindful of the conditions around you and how other people are driving. Most people tend to overestimate their abilities, especially if they're not in those conditions often.

[17:19] Fleet safety is another topic. You have to pay attention to the details.

[18:10] Discount Tire is a large purchaser of tires. Tire salesmen came in and boasted about their tires and downplayed their competition's tires. Discount Tire didn't have a basis for pushing back so they hired a driver and started testing the tires. They got warranty information.

[18:39] A year after Discount Tire started testing tires for internal information, Chief Strategy Officer Dave Ginsberg, a data scientist, joined Discount Tire. He was thinking of an algorithm to help people pick tires. John told him of the data they gathered to help Discount Tire pick tires.

[19:10] Both Discount Tire and the consumers have the same problem, what to buy. There's a lot out there. David put together the math behind Treadwell, and John's team generated the data. It's based on what you drive, where you drive, and how you drive, on city roads or a highway.

[19:48] Not every car is a commuter. Some people just drive on the weekend. On different cars, different trim levels come with different tire sizes and wheel sizes. A key issue is what mileage you can expect. Discount Tire does free rotations. That gives them data on how long a tire lasts.

[20:41] Discount Tire tests in winter and rain. They also test worn tires that they've buffed down to 4/32nds and test them in the wet. Tires are only new for the first couple thousand miles. Then various changes occur in how your tires perform over time.

[21:11] So that's what we're trying to get at with people. We've changed a lot about how the tire industry's looking and talking about that, all for the customer, to relay to you how this is going to work over the life of your tire.

[21:26] There are annual evaluations of over 75 new tire models each year. When Cooper was bought by Goodyear, the track Discount Tire was using for testing became redundant for Goodyear, so Discount Tire purchased it. They have a third-party test for them.

[22:16] John tells tire manufacturers that Discount Tire uses Treadwell internally when talking about what tires to buy. It's the same version and data that consumers see. It's a unique tool.

[22:58] There were some other sellers doing testing. Tire Rack was one of them. Discount Tire bought Tire Rack at the beginning of '22. They continue to do testing. Tire Rack is for the in-depth enthusiast.

[24:08] Discount Tire is for the consumer who needs a tire but doesn't know a lot about tires, doesn't have a lot of time, and doesn't want to get ripped off. There's a lot of technical data. Discount Tire Treadwell quickly boils it down to suggest which tire the customer should buy.

[24:18] Another point about Treadwell is that it has nothing to do with the cost of the tire or how much money Discount Tire makes from the sale. It's about the performance of the tire. It encourages the customer to look down the list for the diamond in the rough. It's a good tool.

[24:49] The tire manufacturers have looked at the tool and said they want to win at Treadwell. It's impossible to do. The local weather affects the algorithm. Chances are, a good tire in Arizona is not a good tire in Minnesota because of the weather. Treadwell is objective.

[25:31] Treadwell took two years to launch from conception. They had to get enough data from the stores in the field and enough testing to launch a small subset of tires. Now, they have almost every tire tested or it's on the list to get tested. When a new tire comes, they test it.

[26:16] One of the things Discount Tire found is that it took some time after launch for the store managers to buy into using it with customers. They didn't understand it was a real tool.

[26:40] In the last year or so, Discount Tire has started taking store managers through Treadwell to be tire evaluators for a day, testing at the track. They get a T-shirt, The Treadwell Experience. It has been game-changing. The tool has been embraced internally.

[27:32] One of the store managers said Treadwell is like having a test track behind every store.

[27:41] Plug Time! The very first RIMS Texas Regional Conference will be held from August 4th through the 6th in San Antonio at the Henry B. González Convention Center. Early Bird Registration is now open through June 7th. Save up to 20% on a Full-Conference Pass.

[28:03] Hotel cut-off for the discounted rate is available through July 7th. The full Conference Agenda is now live so you can start planning your experience. Don't miss the post-conference workshop, the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Course, available onsite.

[28:19] Also register by June 7th for your Early Bird Registration and save $200. Any chapter member can attend.

[28:39] You can also visit the Events Page of RIMS.org or here for more information. We look forward to seeing you in Texas!

[28:47] About the Spencer Educational Foundation's Grants program. Spencer's goal to help build a talent pipeline of risk management and insurance professionals is achieved, in part, by its collaboration with risk management and insurance educators across the U.S. and Canada.

[29:04] Since 2010, Spencer has awarded over $3.3 million in General Grants to support over 130 student-centered experiential learning initiatives at universities and RMI non-profits. Spencer's 2026 application process is now open through July 30th, 2025.

[29:25] General Grant awardees are typically notified at the end of October. Learn more about Spencer's General Grants through the Programs tab of SpencerEd.org.

[29:35] Let's Return to the Conclusion of My Interview with Discount Tire's John Baldwin!

[30:01] Discount Tire tests rolling resistance; how much fuel or energy per mile one tire absorbs, vs. another tire. Tires that roll easier don't take as much fuel. With battery vehicles, range is a big deal. Tire rolling resistance ranking for electric vehicles is incorporated into the algorithm.

[30:47] If you have the same tire, size, construction, and everything, one on a gas vehicle and one on an electric vehicle, there is typically 10 to 15% faster wear on the battery vehicle because of the weight and a little bit of the torque. They factor the car in for the mileage estimation.

[31:15] Noise becomes more of a consideration with electric vehicles because there's no engine noise. The whirring noise electric cars make is added so they're not completely silent.

[31:49] Amazon made a big commitment to electric vehicles with Rivian. A lot of Uber drivers are starting to use Model 3 vehicles. There is a trend toward hybrid gas/electric vehicles.

[32:41] Treadwell is testing off-road tires. If you take a truck out in the mud, you want a tire that works in the mud and rocks. Treadwell just expanded into testing winter tires.

[33:27] Discount Tire is thinking about working with Tire Rack to rank summer tires and more.

[33:52] John is on the Board of Directors of the Tire Recycling Foundation. The foundation is jointly put together through the United States Tire Manufacturing Association and also the Tire Industry Association, the retailers.

[34:17] We need to find more recycling uses for tires. Twenty percent of scrap tires that come off today are landfilled. Thirty percent are burned in kilns. Fifteen percent are sold used. Used tires are not optimized for safety.

[34:51] Is there a way to recycle these tires back into tires rubber-modified asphalt, or mats? There are so many other things you can do with tires besides burning them and burying them.

[35:12] To go into asphalt, tires are ground up and then added to the mix. It's a different process, which when done right, provides a quieter surface with a better grip and it lasts longer. It's a good use of tires and would take care of the scrap tire problem.

[35:37] Being in the Tire Recycling Foundation complements John's job at Discount Tire. How to recycle tires has been a problem in the U.S. tire industry for 100 years.

[36:34] Municipalities sometimes have a Waste Date to drop off your hazardous waste. Instead of taking it there, you can bring it to a Discount Tire or a competitor. Then it will be recycled.

[38:04] People can go to TireRecyclingFoundation.org for more information. It's a broad-based coalition.

[38:59] John, it has been a real pleasure to speak with you. It's been illuminating. I'm glad that we're shining a lot on how important tires are to our daily lives and the supply chain. I don't know that we've ever done an episode devoted to tires! This is super cool for us at RIMS!

[39:22] Special thanks again to John Baldwin of Discount Tire for joining us.

[39:26] I've got links in this episode's show notes for information about Treadwell, the Tire Recycling Foundation, and Discount Tire's appearance on the RIMS Riskonnect on April 24th, 2025 webinar, "Better Together: The Marriage of Insurable Risk and Business Continuity".

[39:46] Plug Time! You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in the show notes.

[40:13] RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! Contact pd@rims.org for more information.

[40:32] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information.

[40:49] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more.

[41:05] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management.

[41:19] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. You can email Justin at Content@RIMS.org.

[41:27] Thank you all for your continued support and engagement on social media channels! We appreciate all your kind words. Listen every week! Stay safe!

Links:

RIMS Texas Regional 2025 — August 4‒6 | Advance registration rates are now open.

RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP)

RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy

RIMS Risk Management magazine

RIMS Now

The Strategic and Enterprise Risk Center

Spencer Educational Foundation — General Grants 2026 — Application Deadline July 30, 2025

RIMS-CRMP Advanced Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Certificate Program — Featuring Instructor James Lam! Register by July 7. | Bi-weekly course begins July 16.

Tire Safety Month — NHTSA

The Tire Recycling Foundation

"All About Treadwell" — John Baldwin Interview