Corky Coker
The fifth installment of the “CEO Speaker Series - The Talk of the Town” will be presented on Tuesday, March 3, from 8-9:30 a.m. at The Chattanoogan, 1201 Broad Street. Hosted by the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and The Company Lab, the CEO Series keynote speaker will be Joseph “Corky” Coker, CEO of Coker Group.
The CEO series is an opportunity for local business owners to hear from successful entrepreneurs who started small businesses and have grown their organizations into major corporations. The keynote speakers share their growth challenges and successes in order to help mentor other area business owners. LBMC, Cohutta Banking Company, Kumquat, Cornerstone Community Bank, First Tennessee Bank, and Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C sponsor this installment.
In 1974, Corky Coker was handed the reins of his father; Harold Coker’s Chattanooga-based BF Goodrich dealership. Although he didn’t know it then, much of what Corky would do over the course of the next 40 years would define the vintage tire industry. He grew Coker Tire into a worldwide supplier of specialty collector vehicle tires and wheels with distributors in more than 40 countries and a stock of collector tires and wheels taking up over 300,000 square feet of warehouse space. The Coker Group now occupies numerous buildings in downtown Chattanooga, TN and has opened a new west coast facility in City of Industry, CA.
Coker Group operates nine companies: Coker Tire, Phoenix Race Tires, Roadster Wire Wheels, Specialty Wheel, Wheel Vintiques, Honest Charley Speed Shop & Garage, Coker Cycle Co., and The Great Race. It’s flagship company, Coker Tire, is the exclusive worldwide distributor of BFGoodrich, Firestone, and U.S. Royal vintage tires as well as the North American distributor for Michelin vintage products, and M&H drag tires as well as many of its own branded products including Coker Classic, Premium Sport, Garfield, Excelsior, Monster Cruiser, and the Big One.
As evidence of his leadership and success, Mr. Coker has received numerous industry awards and honors including induction into both the Hall of Fame by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) and Automobile Restoration Market Organization (ARMO). He also is a past chairman of the Board of Directors for the Collectors Foundation.
Mr. Coker believes in the principles and values of hard work that this country was founded on and applies them to every aspect of his life and business style. Drawing strength from faith and family, he is also a leader in humanitarian efforts and has participated in a number of mission trips.
The CEO Series is a cooperative effort between The Tennessee Small Business Development Center, The Company Lab, Chattanooga State Community College, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Small Business Administration. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested two weeks in advance. The registration fee for this event is $15 online or $20 at the door (cash only); the registration deadline is February 27 at 2:00 p.m. Register and pay online at www.tsbdc.org/chscc. (Click “View Upcoming Training,” Topic = Managing a Business) *A payment link will be included in your registration confirmation email.