Former Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Chairman and CEO Stanley C. Gault died June 29, 2016, just one day shy of the 20th anniversary of his retirement from the company. He was 90 years old.
Gault ran the company from 1991-1996. During those years, Gault cut non-performing divisions and debt, developed new marketing strategies, and saw Goodyear’s market value soar from $1 billion to $6 billion.
According to current Goodyear Chairman and CEO Rich Kramer, the company’s current direction began to take shape under Gault’s leadership.
“Our shift from a manufacturing-driven company to one with a market-back consumer focus started with Stan,” Kramer said in a statement. “The commitment to helping our customers grow their businesses started with Stan. Emphasizing the importance of sales and marketing in our company started with Stan. As a marketing expert, Stan was an effective caretaker and ‘grower’ of the Goodyear brand in very visible ways…. He even changed the colors on the Goodyear Blimp to match the company’s blue and gold.”
Gault joined Goodyear as director in 1989. Prior to taking the helm at Goodyear, he spent 11 years as chairman and CEO of Rubbermaid, based in his hometown of Wooster, Ohio. Known for his visionary approach and leadership, he was named one of America’s best CEOs in1989 by Industry Week magazine. In 1992, Gault was honored as the outstanding CEO of the Year by Financial World magazine. Before Rubbermaid he enjoyed a 31-year career with General Electric working his way up within the industrial products and components division of the company.
Born Jan. 6, 1926, Gault graduated from The College of Wooster with a degree in Geology in 1948 following service in the Army Air Corps. A devoted volunteer, fundraiser and philanthropist for his alma mater, he helped raise more than $111 million for the college over the years. He will long be remembered within the Wooster community, as multiple buildings across the campus community bear his family name including the Gault Alumni Center, the Gault Admissions Center, the Flo K. Gault Library, Gault Recital Hall, and two residence halls: Gault Manor and Gault Schoolhouse.
He left his mark on Goodyear as well. Kramer mentioned that the expansion of brand advertising, the Aquatread tire innovations of the early 1990s and larger-than-life product launches – even calling employees “associates” – are all part of Gault’s influence.
“Stan Gault’s belief in what Goodyear was capable of served as an inspiration to everyone,” said Kramer. “Even though we are saddened by his passing, we still are energized by his vision of what we can achieve.”
This is the second iconic Goodyear CEO to pass in recent months with the loss of Chuck Pilliod in April.
Gault was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Flo, and is survived by their three children as well as six grandchildren.
