Navarro Named to Senior Vice President Post at Goodyear

Sprang Announces Retirement after 37 Years

AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 16 -- Rick Navarro, currently vice president of business development for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, has been named senior vice president, business development and integration, according to Robert J. Keegan, chairman and chief executive officer.

Navarro, who joined Goodyear in October from the Solectron Corp., where he was senior vice president of corporate development, replaces Clark E. Sprang who has elected to retire after 37 years of service.

"Rick has a tremendous track record in his previous assignments, and in a very short time with Goodyear, has already demonstrated the leadership qualities that led to his initial hiring," Keegan said. "He is actively engaged in his role and already driving results in a number of different areas of activity."

Keegan said the company is very appreciative of Sprang's past contributions.

"Clark has been at the center of Goodyear's global expansion over the past decade," said Keegan. "He led the teams that negotiated our joint ventures with Sumitomo Rubber Industries, and directed our investments in low-cost operations in China, South Africa, Poland and Slovenia."

Sprang was named to his present position in 1999. Previously, he had been vice president of business development. He was elected an officer of the company in 1996.

A graduate of The Ohio State University, Sprang joined Goodyear's international operations in 1966, and lived in Asia and Europe for more than 20 years while holding international financial positions.

Navarro earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1972 and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business in 1975.

He began his professional career in 1972 as an engineer for Rockwell International where he led structural design work on the Space Shuttle, Skylab, the Soyuz Docking Module and the Apollo Command Module. Prior to joining Solectron, he held leadership positions with Citicorp; Bank of America; Citibank, N.A., and Honeywell International, Inc.

Goodyear is the world's largest tire company. The company manufactures tires, engineered rubber products and chemicals in more than 85 facilities in 28 countries around the world. Goodyear employs approximately 88,000 people worldwide.