Changes at Goodyear

IT is worth noting that there is a major restructuring of management going on at Goodyear with Bill Sharp, the head of the company's North American operations (and the man who made the decision to pull the company out of Formula 1 back in 1997) stepping down at the age of 58. He will be replaced by John Polhemus, who is currently in charge of Goodyear's Latin American Region, an area where the popularity of F1 is huge. With Goodyear struggling to remain the top tire company in the world in competition with Michelin and Bridgestone, a change of management at Goodyear might signal a change of policy. The problem for the Akron company is that most of its old F1 team have left the company and so a new group would have to be trained up. As part of the restructuring there will be a new division for global marketing programs. This organisation may quickly conclude that F1 is an essential step for the company.