Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has appointed Ben Patel its senior vice president and chief technology officer.
In his new role, Patel will be responsible for product planning and development, as well as engineering and technology across all of Cooper's regions. He will lead Cooper's technology organization, which includes a global technical center, plus regional tech centers in North America, Asia and Europe.
Before joining Cooper, Patel worked at Tenneco, where he most recently served as senior vice president, chief technology officer.
"In an earlier role at Tenneco, he served in (the company's) Global Clean Air Division as its vice president, global research and development, and helped create new products for global light and commercial vehicle customers to meet environmental and performance standards," say Cooper officials.
Prior to working at Tenneco, Patel spent 12 years at General Electric in technical roles of increasing responsibility.
"Ben is an experienced and talented leader," says Brad Hughes, Cooper's CEO and president. "He joins a strong technical team that is highly focused on enhancing our products with an emphasis on what consumers want from their tires. Ben will help us get ahead of the curve with products that meet current and future needs in mobility."
