AKRON, Ohio, Jan. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT) has named Christopher Curran vice president of public relations and communications for its North American Tire business.

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Curran, 45, has spent the past 20 years in positions of increasing responsibility in the communications and public relations field.  Most recently, he was director of communications and issues management for The ServiceMaster Company, the world's largest residential and commercial services network, and also has served in communications roles in the consumer products and health care industries.

"We are very happy to welcome Chris to Goodyear's North American Tire team," said Steve McClellan, president of North American Tire.  "Outstanding communications is critical to our business as we continue to build for success over the long term.  We have a strong team in place, and look forward to Chris's leadership to further increase its value as we execute our strategy."

Curran replaces Ed Markey, who was named Goodyear vice president of corporate communications in March, 2011.

While at ServiceMaster, Curran developed and implemented communications strategies for the overall company and its eight brands, including TruGreen, Terminix and others.  He developed ServiceMaster's first social media strategy and established an employee advocacy website, to increase effective employee engagement with external audiences.

Curran is a 1989 graduate of the University of Connecticut.  Among his previous responsibilities was serving as senior manager of corporate communications at Cadbury Schweppes from 2000-2003, developing strategic and tactical communications plans in five food and beverage business segments.  Following that, he led global public relations and investor relations for Esselte Corporation, a global consumer goods manufacturer.  Curran had been at ServiceMaster since 2010.

Curran will join Goodyear on February 6, 2012.

Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies.  It employs approximately 73,000 people and manufactures its products in 54 facilities in 22 countries around the world.  Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry.  For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company