New Cooper Europe MD

Jeff Schumaker will take on the role of Managing Director , Cooper Tire Europe, headquartered in Melksham, England from January 1.

Schumaker will succeed Julian Baldwin, who is set to retire after leading Cooper Tire Europe since 2006. Cooper Tire Europe includes tyre manufacturing facilities in the U.K. and Serbia, as well as sales and marketing, technical, and distribution operations throughout Europe.

“Jeff’s demonstrated leadership skills and broad range of competencies gained throughout his long and diverse career at Cooper Tire position him well to succeed Julian, who has accomplished a great deal in his years at the helm of Cooper Tire Europe,” said Hal Miller, President, International Tire Division.

“Under Julian’s leadership, a high quality, cost-effective European manufacturing footprint was established and expanded with the recent opening of our new operation in Serbia. We thank Julian for his immense contributions and look forward to the strong leadership Jeff will bring to maximizing our opportunities throughout Europe and Russia,” Miller concluded.

Schumaker is a 24-year Cooper Tire veteran who has been serving as Director—Sales and Marketing for Cooper Tire Europe since August of this year. Prior to that position, Schumaker was General Manager for Cooper Tire’s manufacturing joint venture in Mexico, Corporacion de Occidente, and its wholly owned Cooper Tire de Mexico sales and marketing organization for three years. Before serving in Mexico, Schumaker was Director—Quality for Cooper Tire at its Findlay, Ohio headquarters, and served in an earlier capacity at Cooper Tire Europe as Technical Liaison Manager in Melksham. His early management positions with Cooper included Tire Testing Manager and Manager of SUV and LT tire development. He first began work with the company in 1988 as a co-op student.