Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio, has hired an electric vehicle veteran as vice president of strategy and business development.
Thad Ewald will be responsible for driving Goodyear's long-term strategy and pursuing growth opportunities for the company's traditional and emerging businesses, said Darren Wells, Goodyear's executive vice president and CFO, in a press release.
Most recently, Ewald was vice president of corporate strategy and development for Cummins Inc., the Indiana-based maker of power products.
At Cummins, Ewald led the development of a startup in the electrified and hydrogen power segment and was responsible for joint venture, acquisition and divestiture transactions, Goodyear said.
Goodyear has been investing in tires for electric vehicles and so-called intelligent tires for at least a decade.
On Monday, the company's venture arm, Goodyear Ventures, announced an undisclosed investment in AmpUp, an electric vehicle (EV) software company and network provider.
The Akron company also has developed a concept tire, called reCharge, that can regenerate its tread with the use of a canister of biodegradable fluid.
In June, Goodyear became the third-largest tire maker worldwide by completing its $2.8 billion acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in Findlay, Ohio.
