The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced two senior leadership appointments, effective January 1, 2019.
Jon Bellissimo, vice president, Americas Product Development and head of Goodyear Chemical, will become senior vice president, global operations and technology. In his new role, Bellissimo will provide executive leadership for a number of Goodyear’s global functions, including: engineering; quality; procurement; manufacturing; environmental, health, safety and sustainability; sales and operations planning; and project management.
Bellissimo brings four decades of experience in the design, development and manufacturing of Goodyear products, having served in a variety of functional and operational roles at the regional and global levels. In addition to his product development leadership within the Americas and Goodyear’s Chemical business, Bellissimo served as director of Goodyear’s Innovation Center in Akron and has played an integral role in manufacturing plant startups around the world. He succeeds Joe Zekoski, who will retire after a career of nearly 40 years at Goodyear.
Laura Duda, vice president, Americas Communications, will become senior vice president, global communications and chief communications officer, leading all aspects of Goodyear’s global communications. Her new responsibilities include media relations, associate communications, corporate reputation, philanthropy and community relations. Duda joined Goodyear in 2016 with nearly two decades of strategic communications leadership experience in the energy industry. She succeeds Paul Fitzhenry.
Chairman, chief executive officer and president Richard J Kramer said, “I am excited to welcome Jon and Laura to Goodyear’s senior leadership team. They are proven leaders who will bring both innovative thinking and deep industry knowledge that will position Goodyear for the future.”
Bellissimo and Duda will report directly to Kramer.
