James E. Kline Named General Counsel for Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

FINDLAY, Ohio, April 24 -- COOPER TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY has named James E. Kline, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, for the company.

Kline has more than 30 years of legal experience, serving 11 years as Vice President and General Counsel of Aeroquip-Vickers, Inc. (now Eaton Corp.), in Toledo, Ohio. He also was in private practice in Toledo, where he was most recently a partner at the law firm of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick.

He has served as an Adjunct Professor, Corporate Finance and Business Planning, at the University of Toledo Law School, and is a contributing author of Ohio Corporation Law.

A graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, Kline earned his Juris Doctor degree from The Ohio State University College of Law. He is also a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Palo Alto, Calif.

Kline presently serves as a trustee and past chairman for the Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce, a trustee and past president for the Toledo Zoological Society, and a trustee for the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and Promedica Health, Education and Research Corporation. He has previously served as a trustee and board chairman for Lourdes College and trustee and president of the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority.

Kline succeeds Richard D. Teeple, who is retiring after 20 years as General Counsel.

Commenting on the announcement, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company CEO Thomas A. Dattilo said, "Jim Kline has a great background and history of success that makes us very confident that he will lead our legal organization in this time of quickly changing legal requirements."

For an electronic photo of Jim Kline email Nancy Walter at nawalter@coopertire.com .

Company Description

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio and specializes in the manufacture and marketing of automotive products. Products for Cooper's Tire Group include automotive, motorcycle and truck tires, inner tubes, tread rubber and equipment. In the Automotive Group, Cooper is an original equipment supplier of sealing, trim, NVH control systems and fluid handling systems for the automotive industry in North America, Europe, Australia and South America. Cooper has more than 20,000 employees and 52 manufacturing facilities in 13 countries. For more information, visit the Company's web site at: www.coopertire.com .

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