Goodyear CFO Zamarro Exits Mid-Transformation, Interim Named
Management crisis
Company Background
Goodyear Tire & Rubber is one of the world's largest tire companies, employing about 63,000 people and operating 49 manufacturing facilities across 19 countries. The Akron, Ohio-based company has been executing a sweeping cost-reduction and portfolio-simplification program called Goodyear Forward, which it launched in 2023. That plan has generated $1.5 billion in annualized run-rate savings and was completed on asset-sale targets — the company divested its off-the-road tire business, the Dunlop brand, and its polymer chemical business for combined gross proceeds of roughly $2.2 billion.
Despite those operational gains, the financial picture remains strained. Full-year 2025 brought a GAAP net loss of $1.721 billion, largely attributable to a $1.5 billion non-cash deferred tax asset valuation allowance and a $674 million goodwill impairment charge; adjusted net income for the year was $136 million, down sharply from $278 million in 2024. The first quarter of 2026 produced a net loss of $249 million and an adjusted net loss of $112 million, compared with an adjusted net loss of $11 million in the same period a year earlier. Segment operating income of $95 million in Q1 2026 was less than half the $195 million recorded a year ago.
The company's credit profile reflects the pressure. On June 4, 2026, Goodyear priced $1.05 billion in aggregate principal of new 8.875% Senior Notes due 2032, with proceeds earmarked to retire $700 million of 4.875% notes and $117 million of 7.625% notes both maturing March 15, 2027. The new notes carry a coupon more than four percentage points higher than the paper they replace.
What Was Disclosed
Christina L. Zamarro, Goodyear's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, notified the company on June 22, 2026 that she would step down from her position effective June 30, 2026, and leave the company on July 10, 2026. The company said she is departing "to pursue another opportunity" and that her departure "is not related to the Company's financial or operating results or to any disagreements with the Company regarding the Company's financial, operational, accounting or reporting policies or practices." Zamarro had spent 20 years at Goodyear, the last three as CFO.
Scott M. Deakin, 60, will serve as Interim Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective July 1, 2026, acting as the company's principal financial officer while Goodyear conducts what it describes as a "comprehensive search" for a permanent successor. Deakin's most recent role was CFO of Gypsum Management & Supply, Inc., a wholesale distributor of interior construction products, where he served from 2019 to 2026. He has no disclosed background in the tire or automotive industry. His compensation is structured as $30,000 per week in base salary, a $5,000 per week bonus tied to weeks of service, and a restricted stock unit award with a grant-date value of $500,000.
Why It Matters
Zamarro's departure is the second major business-unit or functional leadership exit in under a year to result in an interim appointment rather than a permanent successor. Ryan Waldron, President of the Americas business unit, left the company on August 25, 2025; Marcelo Toscani was named to lead that unit on an interim basis at the same time. A CFO position at a company actively managing a multi-year transformation, a restructuring in EMEA involving a net reduction of roughly 400 positions, and a debt maturity wall requiring refinancing is not a role that typically tolerates an extended gap at the top.
The debt context amplifies the significance. Goodyear raised $1.05 billion at 8.875% in early June 2026 — a rate that places this paper firmly in high-yield territory — largely to address the 2027 maturities. The incoming interim CFO will be responsible for managing investor and lender relations through what remains an active credit and capital-allocation cycle. Deakin's background as a CFO at a building-materials distributor does not include direct experience with a publicly traded industrial manufacturer of this scale or complexity.
There are countervailing considerations. Goodyear's Q4 2025 segment operating income of $416 million was the highest in more than seven years according to management, and the Goodyear Forward plan did achieve its stated run-rate savings target. The company also generated $796 million of operating cash flow for full-year 2025 after two consecutive years of operating cash outflows. Zamarro's stated reason for leaving — to pursue another opportunity — is accompanied by the standard SEC-required disclaimer that the departure does not stem from any disagreement over financial reporting. Nothing in the filings contradicts that representation.
