The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has hired a logistics and supply chain management professional with vast experience to lead those efforts within its North American Tire (NAT) business unit.

goodyear has announced that Kevin Olifiers, most recently director of supply chain and logistics for SVP Worldwide, has been named vice president, supply chain-NAT. SVP Worldwide is a leader in sewing machines and sewing accessories, with brands such as Singer(R) and Viking(R). Olifiers will report to Richard Kramer, president of NAT and Chris Clark, Goodyear's senior vice president for global sourcing.

According to PR Inside, prior to joining SVP Worldwide, Olifiers had a lengthy career with Kodak in a variety of management positions in logistics and supply chain, including several international assignments.

"An advantaged supply chain is one of Goodyear's Seven Strategic Drivers and has been identified for 2007 as a focus area to drive a competitive advantage," said Kramer. "Kevin has the experience in supply chain transformation to lead NAT to the next level of performance in the areas of cost, customer service and inventory management."

Olifiers holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Fairleigh Dickinson University and an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology.