Goodyear president, CEO Mark Stewart steps down amid strategic review

Akron, Ohio – Goodyear has announced an immediate change in leadership, appointing board member Roger Wood as interim chief executive officer as the US tire maker continues a strategic review of its businesses and operations.

Mark Stewart has stepped down as president and CEO and resigned from the company's board of directors, effective immediately, Goodyear announced 9 Nov.

Wood will lead the company while the board conducts a search for a permanent successor, supported by an executive search firm.

The leadership change comes as "a special committee of Goodyear's board, established earlier this year, has been conducting a strategic review of the company's businesses and operations," said Goodyear.

The review, it said, covers a "broad range of strategic and operational initiatives," including further optimising the company's business mix and manufacturing footprint, improving efficiency and investing in new products and capabilities.

"Goodyear has made meaningful progress in becoming a more efficient and focused company," said board chairman Joe Hinrichs.

However, the board believes this is "the right moment to transition leadership to accelerate that progress and capture additional opportunity," he added.

Hinrichs said Wood brought extensive automotive and industrial CEO experience, "deep operational expertise" and strong relationships with OE manufacturers and aftermarket customers.

"He knows Goodyear, understands the opportunities ahead and has the board's full confidence," said Hinrichs, pointing to the need for "heightened focus and urgency" in executing the company's strategy.

Strategic review

Commenting further on the strategic assessment, Hinrichs said the board had established a special committee earlier this year to conduct a "rigorous strategic review" of Goodyear.

"The board, together with the Enterprise Transformation Office, is evaluating a broad range of strategic and operational opportunities," he said.

Goodyear said it did not intend to provide further updates on the review unless the board determined that additional disclosure was appropriate or required.

Wood, meanwhile, said his immediate priorities would be to support employees and customers, "sharpen execution" and build on the existing transformation programme.

"Goodyear has iconic brands, talented people and significant opportunities to improve performance and deliver long-term value," he said.

The interim CEO said he would work closely with the board, leadership team and Enterprise Transformation Office to advance the strategic review.

The objective, he added, was to "translate that work into actions" that would strengthen performance and position Goodyear for long-term success.

Wood has served on Goodyear's board since 2023 and has more than three decades of leadership experience in the automotive and manufacturing industries.

He previously served as co-CEO of Tenneco, the automotive components manufacturer supplying OE and aftermarket customers.

The leadership change comes ahead of another senior executive appointment at Goodyear.

The Akron tire maker announced 27 Oct that Jerome Rouquet, currently CFO of Visteon, would join as EVP and CFO, effective 1 Dec.

Rouquet will succeed interim CFO Scott Deakin, who will support the leadership transitio