QUINCY, Ill. — The board of directors of Titan International Inc. has promoted Paul G. Reitz to chief executive officer and president effective Jan. 1, 2017. He will replace Maurice Taylor, who is retiring. 

Maurice Taylor, chairman, states, "This has been a 6 year process. Six years ago we hired a search firm to find a Wheel president, a Tire president and a chief financial officer. When it was time to select the president of Titan, after approximately 4 years, the board decided that they could once again retain a search firm or choose one of these three candidates. They determined the right candidate was Paul Reitz, who was made president 2 years ago and has now earned the right to become both CEO and president. Paul has demonstrated that he is not only intelligent but he knows how to build and lead a strong team. I look forward to advising him on various engineering products and helping out with new wheel operations in Russia and Brazil. I will continue visiting our customers and promoting the benefits of our LSW products, along with making an appearance at a few investor conferences."

Reitz, who is 44 years old, joined the company in July 2010 as CFO and was promoted to president in February 2014. Prior to joining Titan, he was the chief accounting officer for Carmike Cinemas based in Columbus, Ga. Reitz has also held leadership positions with McLeodUSA Publishing, Yellow Book USA Inc., and Deloitte and Touche LLP. He has a master's of business administration degree from the University of Iowa and a bachelor of business administration degree from Northwood University. Reitzl is married with two children who share their parents' passion for sports.

Taylor, who has been an integral part of Titan since its inception more than 33 years ago, will continue to serve as chairman of Titan's board of directors.