jean-Claude Kihn

Retired Executive, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Akron, Ohio | PathNorth member since 2019

Jean-Claude Kihn is a retired executive of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. During his thirty-year career at Goodyear, he has lived and worked in six countries and on four continents. He led various businesses but his passion was and is innovation. He now mentors young entrepreneurs and also does consulting work.

Jean-Claude served as President of Goodyear’s Europe, Middle East & Africa business in 2016 and 2017. Before, he was President of Goodyear’s Latin America business since 2014 and Senior Vice President & Managing Director of Goodyear Brazil since 2012.

Prior to that, Jean-Claude served as the company’s Senior Vice President & Chief Technical Officer since 2008, where he was responsible for Research, Development, Engineering and Quality.

Jean-Claude joined Goodyear in 1988 at its Innovation Center in Luxembourg. In 1991, he received his first foreign assignment at Goodyear’s Plant in Thailand. In 1994, he moved to Akron, Ohio to join the truck tire development team for Latin America. In 1996, he returned to Luxembourg to lead truck tire development for Europe, Asia Pacific, and Africa.

In 2000, Jean-Claude moved to Akron as Director Tire Technology – Latin America, and in 2002 he was named Director R&D Materials Science.

Jean-Claude was named Managing Director of Goodyear Peru in 2003, and named General Director of the Goodyear Innovation Center in Akron, Ohio in 2005.

Jean-Claude is a Chemical Engineer and has a Ph.D. in biotechnology from the University of Louvain, Belgium. He is fluent in English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese. He is a native of Luxembourg, married to Brigitte and they live (most of the time) in Akron, Ohio; they have two children.