Samir G. "Sam" Gibara was Chairman of the Board of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company from July 1, 1996 until his retirement on July 1, 2003. Gibara also served as Goodyear's chief executive officer from January 1, 1996 through December 31, 2002. He was a member of the Goodyear Board of Directors from April 1995 until July 2003.
Prior to his election as CEO, Gibara was president and chief operating officer of the company. Before that, beginning in 1994, he was executive vice president of the corporation with responsibility for its North American tire operations. He was elected a corporate officer of Goodyear in 1992, when he was named vice president of strategic planning and business development, and given additional responsibility as acting vice president of finance and chief financial officer.
Before 1992, Gibara served in a series of key executive positions, primarily in Goodyear's European operations, including vice president of the European region. He left the company briefly to become a vice president of marketing for International Harvester in Europe and later rejoined Goodyear as president of its French operations. He also served as head of Goodyear Morocco and president of Goodyear Canada. He began his Goodyear career in 1964, joining the company in France as a management trainee.
Gibara was born in Cairo, Egypt, April 23, 1939. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Cairo University in 1960. Four years later he received a master's degree in international business and finance from Harvard University. He attended the Kellogg Graduate School of Management's Executive Program at Northwestern University in 1985.
Over the span of his career, Gibara was active in key international advisory and academic capacities. He was an advisor to the International Trade Center in Brussels; economic advisor to the Moroccan Government Delegation to the United States; vice president and board member of the American Chamber of Commerce in France, and a visiting professor of business at universities in Europe and the United States.
He served on the board of directors of Sumitomo Rubber Industries and International Paper. He also served on the executive committee of the Rubber Manufacturers Association and on the board of trustees of Summa Health Systems. He was a member of the Business Council, the Business Roundtable, the Ohio Roundtable, the Akron Regional Development Board and the Executive Management Association. In addition, he served as a member of the board of trustees of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra and as chairman of the Summit County (Ohio) United Way Campaign.
Gibara was knighted in the French Order of National Merit and inducted into the American Academy of Achievement. He was named an honorary alumnus of The University of Akron and also Business Person of the Year by both the France-American Chamber of Commerce and the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in the U.S.A.
Samir G. "Sam" Gibara
