Goodyear Chairman Gibara Joins SRI Board

    AKRON, Ohio, March 28 Samir G. Gibara, chairman and chief
executive officer of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, has been elected to
the board of directors of Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. in Kobe, Japan.
    Gibara's election is in conjunction with Goodyear's 10 percent ownership
of SRI, following the companies' global alliance that was completed in
September 1999.  With this ownership, Goodyear is SRI's second-largest
shareholder.  SRI holds 1.4 percent of Goodyear's common stock.
    Gibara, 61, has been chairman and CEO of Goodyear since 1996.  He joined
the company in 1964 and has served as its senior executive in Morocco, France,
Canada, Europe and North America.  He has been a corporate officer since 1992.
Gibara also serves on the board of directors of International Paper Co.
    Goodyear is the world's largest tire company.  Headquartered in Akron,
Ohio, the company manufactures tires, engineered rubber products and chemicals
in more than 90 facilities in 28 countries.  It has marketing operations in
almost every country around the world.  Goodyear employs more than 105,000
people worldwide.