Goodyear Chairman Robert Keegan Joins SRI Board ?

AKRON, Ohio, March 31 -- Robert J. Keegan, 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.

Goodyear and Sumitomo Rubber Industries have six joint venture businesses in North America, Europe and Japan. In addition, each company holds common stock in the other.

Keegan, 56, has been Goodyear's chairman of the board since July 2003. He was elected chief executive officer in January 2003 and president in October 2000.

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 about 88,000 people worldwide.