Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has announced that Paula Whitesell will join the company as senior vice president and chief human resources officer (CHRO), effective July 27.
Whitesell joins Cooper from Peapod Digital Labs (PDL) in Chicago, where she served as vice president, Human Resources, and was responsible for human resources, communications and customer care. PDL is a unit of Ahold Delhaize, an international leader in supermarkets and e-commerce. She progressed to this role after serving as vice president of Human Resources at Peapod LLC, a leading online grocer.
Prior to Peapod, Whitesell had an 18-year career with Whirlpool Corp., where she most recently served as senior director — Global Human Resources, a position she attained after progressing through a number of diverse leadership roles in human resources, and within the business, including finance, customer care and integrated supply chain, leading the trade customer support team. Her career has also included roles in Tier 1 automotive industry suppliers such as VDO-Siemens and Budd Thyssenkrupp Co.
Whitesell holds a bachelor’s degree in public affairs with special studies in labor relations and a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA), both from Indiana University.
“There is nothing more critical to Cooper’s success than our people. We are excited to have such a talented HR executive join us as we continue to develop the organizational capabilities and company culture that will help Cooper deliver our strategic plan and help employees grow personally and professionally. Our company purpose states that ‘everyone deserves to travel through life’s journeys with confidence,’ and this includes our teams, customers, consumers, and all of our stakeholders. We look forward to Paula helping us live this purpose every day,” said Cooper President and CEO Brad Hughes.
