Goodyear Installs Roger Wood as Interim CEO During Strategic Review

Mark Stewart exits immediately as the board continues examining the company’s business mix, footprint and operating priorities

Goodyear appointed director Roger Wood interim chief executive on Nov. 9, 2026, as Mark Stewart departed immediately from his positions as CEO, president and board member. The company said a search for a permanent chief executive is underway. The leadership change comes while a special committee of the board continues a strategic review, leaving both the permanent management structure and the review’s outcome unresolved.

Wood has served on Goodyear’s board since 2023 and brings more than 30 years of automotive and manufacturing experience. He previously served as co-CEO of Tenneco. His appointment places an existing director in operational command during the search. The announcement did not designate him as the permanent successor or provide a timetable for selecting one, and it did not announce a completed strategic transaction.

“My immediate priorities are to support our associates and customers, sharpen execution, and build on the work already underway,” Wood said. The statement emphasizes continuity of operations alongside an effort to improve execution. It does not identify a new restructuring program, quantify expected savings or establish financial targets. Those distinctions matter because a management transition is not itself evidence of an improvement in operating performance.

Board Chair Joe Hinrichs said the transition would “accelerate that progress and capture additional opportunity.” That is the board’s expectation for the change, not a reported result. The release did not attach a dollar value to the opportunity or explain how much progress could be attributed to initiatives already underway. It also did not provide a financial basis for assessing the incremental contribution expected from Wood.

The special committee’s review covers Goodyear’s business mix and footprint, efficiency, and products and capabilities. That scope reaches across portfolio choices and day-to-day operations, but the company announced no decision. There was no disclosed deal, transaction value or completion schedule. The review should therefore be understood as an ongoing process rather than a commitment to sell a business, change a particular facility or pursue a specified transaction.

For investors, the overlap between leadership selection and strategic review creates two separate uncertainties. The board must determine who will lead the company permanently while also evaluating how its operations should be configured. The announcement does not establish whether those processes will conclude together or in sequence. It would be premature to infer a preferred strategic outcome from Wood’s interim appointment alone.

A separate finance-leadership change remains on the calendar. Jerome Rouquet is scheduled to start as chief financial officer on Dec. 1, following an announcement made Oct. 27. That appointment is distinct from the Nov. 9 CEO transition. The release did not change the stated start date or provide new financial guidance associated with Rouquet’s arrival, so it offers no basis for recalculating the company’s outlook.

Operationally, Wood’s immediate task is to maintain attention on customers, employees and execution while the board’s broader work continues. His board tenure provides familiarity with the company, but the release does not quantify the benefits of that familiarity. Nor does his manufacturing experience establish what measures he will choose. The only specified near-term priorities are those he outlined in his statement.

The corporate update thus changes who is responsible for running Goodyear without resolving what the strategic review will produce. The next consequential disclosures would be a permanent leadership decision, a defined operating initiative or a specific review outcome. Until then, expectations of faster progress remain management and board judgments, while the financial effects of the transition are undisclosed.

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