FINDLAY, Ohio (May 9, 2002)—Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. shareholders have elected former Goodyear executive John F. Fiedler to the company's board of directors, along with re-electing Edsel D. Dunford and Dennis J. Gormley to new three-year terms as members of the board.
The elections came during the Findlay-based company's annual meeting of shareholders.
“John´s breadth of experience in the tire and auto parts industries will make him an excellent director for Cooper," said Tom Dattilo, Cooper chairman, president and CEO.
Mr. Fiedler is chairman and CEO of BorgWarner Inc., an automotive parts manufacturer headquartered in Chicago. Before joining BorgWarner in 1994, Mr. Fiedler spent 29 years at Goodyear.
The announcements came as Cooper management presented highlights of the year and restated a positive outlook for continued sales growth, reduced debt and improved operating efficiencies for the remainder of 2002.
“Investors are recognizing our accomplishments and our future opportunities and the improvement in our share price is beginning to reflect that,” Mr. Dattilo said.
Stockholders also approved a stock option plan for non-employee directors, which will replace a plan approved in 1991 that expired after last year´s meeting. The plan authorizes the issuance of up to 500,000 shares of the company´s common stock over its 10-year term, Cooper said.
Following the meeting, the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of 10.5 cents per share on common stock, payable June 28, 2002, to stockholders of record on June 3, 2002.