Christina Zamarro has been appointed Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s vice president of Finance and treasurer. She succeeds Peter R. Rapin, who steps down from the role tomorrow ahead of his retirement on 1 October 2020. In her new role, Zamarro reports to Darren R. Wells, the tyre maker’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Preliminary results for the first quarter of The Goodyear Tire Rubber Company’s 2020 financial year were published today, with the company confirming its fiscal performance during the three months to 31 March was “greatly affected by the economic disruption associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.” Tyre unit volumes declined 18 per cent year-on-year to approximately 31 million units and sales dropped 16.7 per cent to around US$3.0 billion.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber says its decision to modernise two tyre factories in Germany, and in doing so lay off around 1,100 workers, will cut the tyre maker’s costs by US$60 million to $70 million a year. Chief financial officer Darren Wells anticipates that Goodyear will feel the “full benefit” of these additional earnings by 2022.
A familiar face has returned to Goodyear Tire & Rubber. As of 20 September, Darren R. Wells is back with the tyre maker as executive vice-president and chief financial officer – a position he held between 2008 and 2013. He succeeds Laura Thompson, who in June announced her intention to retire in the first quarter of 2019 following a 35-year career with the company.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Darren Wells has sold 30,914 shares in the tyre maker for US$1,039,019.54. Wells, who steps down as president of the company’s Rubber’s EMEA business on 1 January ahead of leaving Goodyear early on in 2016, now directly owns 85,808 shares in Goodyear Tire & Rubber.
Jean-Claude Kihn has been named president of Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business. The president of the Latin America business will fully assume his new role on 1 January 2016, succeeding Darren R. Wells, who will leave Goodyear in early 2016.
Top-level football has become a sponsorship favourite for tyre makers, with Nexen’s partnership with Manchester City and Yokohama’s sponsorship of the Chelsea home shirt just two of the agreements announced in the second half of 2015, But the Goodyear name has been absent from such dealings for quite a while. This is now set to change following yesterday’s signing of a platinum sponsorship partnership with high-profile German club FC Bayern Munich.
Jürgen Titz, who served as UK and Ireland director of consumer replacement tyres at Goodyear Dunlop between 2009 and 2013, has been appointed the new head of Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany. He begins as group managing director of Goodyear Dunlop’s DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) organisation on 1 June, succeeding George Rietbergen, who held the post since 1 August 2013 and will now, according to a statement released by Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe president Darren Wells, “follow a new career outside the company.”
Goodyear today published a whitepaper culminating in recommendations including incentives for truck fleets to purchase high label-rated tyres and the mandatory fitment of TPMS in commercial vehicles in a way similar current rules for passenger cars. Other recommendations include: offering incentives for fuel efficient fleets; clarity on reforms to rules related to weights and dimensions of commercial vehicles; further guidelines on cross-border operations of larger vehicles; more support to make the most from new telematics technology like harmonized standards for telematics; and extra support from regulators to the road fleet sector to attract and retain skilled drivers.
Goodyear Dunlop’s former EMEA region president Arthur de Bok is now CEO and chairman of Dutch medical device company Mediq’s Management Board. He commenced in this role on 1 April. Announcing de Bok’s appointment, chairman of the company’s Supervisory Board, Rob ter Haar, commented that the board and management were “enthusiastic” about him taking the position. “We are convinced that Arthur, with his extensive experience, is the right person to help Mediq respond to this development and extend Mediq’s lead in this field,” he said.
Top-ranking Goodyear executive Darren Wells was parachuted into the leadership of Goodyear Dunlop Europe Middle East and Africa EMEA in October 2013. Having come from the position of Goodyear global CFO, the move was pitched as something of a reshuffle of the company’s global leadership. Set against the backdrop of the recent Geneva motorshow, Tyres & Accessories talked profitability, strategy and efficiency with the newly installed president.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has promoted Roberto Fioroni to vice president and general auditor, effective August 1. Currently finance director for Goodyear’s Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa operations, Fioroni replaces Rich Pegher, who left the company to pursue other opportunities. In his new position, Fioroni will report to executive vice president and CFO Darren Wells and remain part of the Goodyear’s global finance leadership team.
Tire Review reports that Goodyear has named Damon Audia, Scott Honnold and Jenny Wang to new leadership positions. Audia, senior vice president of finance and treasurer, was elected senior vice president of finance for the company’s Asia Pacific region, which is headquartered in Shanghai, China. Audia replaces Jenny Wang, who has accepted a new position in the company’s Asia Pacific operations. Honnold has been elected vice president and treasurer, replacing Audia. Honnold was previously assistant treasurer, responsible for Goodyear’s capital market activities.
Darren Wells, vice president and treasurer of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, has been recognised by Treasury & Risk Management magazine as one of the nation’s top finance executives under the age of 40. Wells’ responsibilities include Goodyear’s financial risk management, treasury policy, and the company’s relationships with the banking community. He was one of the key participants in renegotiating the company’s credit agreements in early 2003.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company