AKRON, Ohio – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has named Christopher Curran vice president of public relations and communications for its North American Tire business.
 
Curran, 45, has spent the past 20 years in positions of increasing responsibility in the communications and public relations field. Most recently, he was director of communications and issues management for The ServiceMaster Co., the world’s largest residential and commercial services network, and also has served in communications roles in the consumer products and health care industries.
 
Curran replaces Ed Markey, who was named Goodyear vice president of corporate communications in March 2011.
 
While at ServiceMaster, Curran developed and implemented communications strategies for the overall company and its eight brands, including TruGreen, Terminix and others. He developed ServiceMaster’s first social media strategy and established an employee advocacy website to increase effective employee engagement with external audiences.
 
Curran is a 1989 graduate of the University of Connecticut. Among his previous responsibilities was serving as senior manager of corporate communications at Cadbury Schweppes from 2000-2003, where he developed strategic and tactical communications plans in five food and beverage business segments. Following that, he led global public relations and investor relations for Esselte Corporation, a global consumer goods manufacturer. Curran had been at ServiceMaster since 2010.
 
Curran will join Goodyear on Feb. 6, 2012.