Goodyear Names Stellantis’ Mark Stewart as CEO
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Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. named Stellantis NV executive Mark Stewart as CEO following a pressure campaign by shareholder activist Elliott Investment Management.
Stewart will take over for CEO Richard Kramer and join the tire maker’s board on Jan. 29, the company said Jan. 18 in a statement. Laurette Koellner, Goodyear’s independent lead director, will become the nonexecutive chair.
Stewart’s hiring, which confirmed an earlier report by Bloomberg News, comes after the company said in November that Kramer would be retiring after 14 years in the top spot.
The Akron, Ohio-based manufacturer initiated a review to maximize shareholder value last July after shedding jobs to deal with softening demand and spiraling inflation. As part of its deal with Elliott, the company agreed to appoint new board members. The directors included Joseph Hinrichs, an automotive industry veteran who is CEO of railroad giant CSX Corp.; Max Mitchell, CEO of aerospace and defense supplier Crane Co.; and Tenneco Inc.’s former co-CEO, Roger Wood.
The search for a new CEO wasn’t influenced by the Elliott settlement, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. Kramer will serve Goodyear in an advisory capacity to support the transition, the company said.
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The change is likely to be well-received by investors, Citi analyst Itay Michaeli said in a note. Stewart brings “extensive experience” that will be helpful in “executing Goodyear’s margin improvement plan in a complex tire industry.”
Goodyear’s shares rose 1.9% at 9:32 a.m. in New York, giving it a market value of about $4 billion. The stock gained 41% last year, nearly double that of the S&P 500.
Stellantis, which owns Jeep, announced Jan. 16 that Stewart was leaving the automaker after a five-year stint as chief operating officer of North America.
Stewart, a native of Alabama who worked at ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Amazon.com Inc. before joining Fiat Chrysler, the predecessor of Stellantis, oversaw record profits for the company’s North American business in 2022. Last year, Stellantis was the only Detroit automaker to suffer a drop in U.S. sales. Stewart also oversaw the company’s fraught negotiations with the United Auto Workers union.
Elliott in its letter in May said Goodyear’s company-owned retail network is undervalued and “nearly worth Goodyear’s market capitalization.” The activist investor also demanded five new directors and a operational review committee at the time.
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