Charles Pilliod Jr. 1918-2016: Goodyear's 5th Chairman

Charles "Chuck" Pilliod Jr., a former chairman and CEO of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. who spent 42 years at the Akron tire company, died April 18, 2016. He was 97.

Pilliod's Goodyear career began in 1941 as a production trainee, after serving as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Asiatic Theater. He rejoined the company in 1945 working in foreign operations, and a year later married Marie "Betty" Jacobs, who preceded him in death.

His overseas service with Goodyear included management positions for the company's Latin American operations. Panama, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, and Brazil were all stations in his career. In 1963 he transferred to England as managing director of Goodyear-Great Britain, which included England, Scotland, and Ireland.

The Akron-area native — he was born Oct. 20, 1918, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio — returned to Akron in 1966 as director of operations for Goodyear International, and he became vice president of the subsidiary in 1967.

In January 1971 he was elected president of Goodyear International and executive vice president of the parent company and a member of the board of directors. He became president and chief operating officer of Goodyear in July 1972 and chief executive officer in January 1974. He was elected chairman and CEO in April 1974 and retired from those posts in 1983.

He retired from the board of directors in October 1986 when President Ronald Reagan appointed him the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. He held that post until mid-1989.

Pilliod's service to national and international causes included time as director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and co-chairman of the Brazil-U.S. Business Council. He also served on President Jimmy Carter's study committee on national health and Reagan's blue ribbon committee on defense management.

He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1992, and the National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association in 1995.

Funeral services are at 9:30 a.m. April 23, 2016, at St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church in Akron. Arrangements are being handled by Billow Fairlawn Chapel. View Pilliod's complete obituary here.