Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has appointed Michael Simon vice president of strategic marketing and planning for North America.
In his new role, Simon is responsible for developing and implementing strategic plans that maximize sales in current markets and establish new paths for sales and profit growth throughout North America.
"His depth of tire industry experience and demonstrated ability to drive growth in existing markets as well as new channels and geographies, will be of tremendous value as we move our business forward,” says Chris Ostrander, president of the company's North America Tire Operations.
With a career in the automotive sector that spans nearly three decades, Simon has a a depth of experience in the tire industry, including 20 years with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. He joined Goodyear’s sales engineering team as a new college graduate in 1985, and progressed through a number of increasingly responsible positions, including general manager of commercial sales and Lean/Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Champion for the company's North American Tire business unit.
Following Goodyear, Simon joined Eaton Corp. as director of sales for the Performance Products and Aftermarket Division, where he focused on the $2 billion Automotive Group’s non-traditional growth segments.
Most recently, Simon served as vice president of global heavy-duty sales and marketing for Remy International Inc., which produces electrical products and hybrid electric motors for global automotive and heavy duty markets. He also operated his own consulting firm, which assisted companies with continuous improvement efforts.
