People: Cooper Tire names news CFO

Findlay, Ohio – Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has hired Ben Patel, Tenneco Inc.'s chief technology officer for the past eight years, to be its senior vice president and chief technology officer.

In this role, Patel, 52, will be responsible for product planning and development, as well as engineering and technology across all regions.

He leads a technology organisation that includes a global technical center as well as technical centers in Asia, Europe and North America, Cooper said.

The CTO position is a new one for Cooper. However, the position encompasses many of the duties Chuck Yurkovich handled prior to his retiring 1 Sept as senior vice president, global research and development, the company said.

Prior to joining Tenneco in 2011, Patel spent 12 years at General Electric Co. in a series of technical roles, including senior research scientist at GE's Global Research Center within the Polymer and Chemical Technology Laboratory.

"Ben will help us get ahead of the curve with products that meet current and future needs in mobility," Brad Hughes, Cooper Tire president and CEO, said in a statement.

"He brings a strong foundation as a scientist combined with a demonstrated ability to inspire and lead global teams to success."

Yurkovich had held the global technology position since July 2005, when he joined Cooper after a 33-year career with Goodyear.

During his time at Cooper, Yurkovich was responsible for the development, maintenance and improvement of new products and technologies for all product lines, duties that led to his being granted several US patents on tire design.

He also promoted the development of new materials and product-related technology for both civilian and military applications.