The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced the planned retirement of Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Gary VanderLind and the appointment of Nicole Gray as his replacement, effective July 1, 2024.

Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Stewart said, “Gary has been part of the culture and fabric of Goodyear for nearly 40 years, starting in our company-owned retail business and then pursuing a path in Human Resources. There is nothing more important to Goodyear than our associates, and Gary has been instrumental in building organizational capability and associate engagement, whether at manufacturing plants, in our businesses, or his most recent role leading the function globally. It has been my pleasure to work with Gary, and I’m truly happy for him to embrace the next chapter of life with his family.”

Nicole Gray joined Goodyear in 2016, moving from leading the company’s global labour and employment team to senior human resources leadership roles. In these roles, she has applied her breadth and depth of labour and employment experience to design and implement global human resource strategy to enable workforce planning, foster culture and meet business needs.

Prior to joining Goodyear, Gray was a partner at McDonald Hopkins LLC, where she worked with employers to address a variety of business and workforce matters, from litigation defence to talent strategy. Her extensive human resources and legal expertise also includes leading collective bargaining, managing corporate transactions and advising senior executives.

“In Nicole Gray, we have an exceptionally qualified leader who is ready to take on the critical role of senior vice president and chief human resources officer. Since joining Goodyear in 2016, Nicole has proven herself to be forward-thinking, strategic and collaborative. In both her legal and HR leadership roles, Nicole has been instrumental to critical people strategies around the world. She is the right Human Resources leader to help deliver on our Goodyear Forward plan as we navigate the increased complexity of our labour landscape, attract and develop talent, and advance our Global HR function,” added Stewart.