Goodyear Appoints Kihn as Chief Technical Officer
-- Kihn Selection is Evidence of Broad Technical Leadership Depth
AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 19 -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced that Jean-Claude Kihn has been named senior vice president and chief technical officer, effective January 1, 2008. Kihn, who currently is general director of Goodyear's Technical Center in Akron (GTC*A), will replace Joseph M. Gingo, who is retiring from Goodyear after 41 years to become chief executive officer of A. Schulman Inc.
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The announcement of Kihn, 48, is evidence of the broad and deep capabilities that have been built on Goodyear's technical leadership team according to Robert J. Keegan, Goodyear's chairman and chief executive officer.
"Jean-Claude has demonstrated excellent leadership throughout the time I have known him and worked with him," said Keegan. "He has gained the trust of our business leaders in Europe, Latin America and North America through his recent assignments in those businesses.
"I have a tremendous amount of confidence in Jean-Claude, and the entire organization, to continue the positive trajectory that we have driven over the course of the past several years," Keegan added. "Our new product engine is now the best in the industry."
Kihn joined Goodyear in 1988 at the Goodyear Technical Center in Luxembourg as a compounder working in passenger tires. In subsequent years, he held several positions with Goodyear's Asian and Latin American business units before being promoted to general director of GTC*A in 2005. Kihn is a chemical engineer and has a Ph.D. from the University of Louvain in Belgium. He is fluent in English, French, German, Spanish and Luxembourgish.
"I am extremely honored to be thought of as someone who can fill Joe's shoes. However, I am also very confident of our future capabilities - thanks in large part to the tremendous leadership team that has been developed throughout the organization," said Kihn.
Along with the appointment of Kihn, Goodyear announced other leadership changes in the technical and research areas of the company:
-- William M. Hopkins, currently the vice president of technology and
strategic initiatives, has been named vice president of advanced
concepts. In his new role, he will establish and lead a team
responsible for "break-through" concepts that will drive the
development of innovative product and process technologies.
-- Joseph Zekoski, currently the general director of the Goodyear
Technical Center in Luxembourg (GTC*L), has been named to the newly
created position of vice president of global product development and
technical center operations. He will be responsible for product
development designed to assure the timely and cost-effective delivery
of innovative new products.
-- Surendra Chawla, currently the director of corporate tire research, has
been named to the position of senior director of external science and
technology programs. Chawla will be responsible for discovering and
assessing innovative new technologies applicable to our product and
business needs.
-- Marc Junio, currently director of technology, consumer tires in
Goodyear's European Union and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
tire business segments, has been named general director of GTC*A,
replacing Kihn.
Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. The company employs about 70,000 people and manufactures its products in more than 60 facilities in 26 countries around the world. For more information about Goodyear, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.
330-796-1863
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