Cooper Tire CEO talks ethics at GVSU

Roy Armes, president and CEO of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. will speak at Grand Valley State University on September 11, 2007. Armes will deliver the second annual Barry Castro Business Ethics Lecture in the Loosemore Auditorium of the DeVos Center from 6-7:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Armes assumed the top post at the world’s eighth largest tire manufacturer in January. He came to Cooper following a 31-year career at Whirlpool Corp. He has a strong background in engineering, manufacturing, global procurement and international operations management, and he has a successful track record of developing customer relationships and consumer oriented products. Armes holds a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toledo. He is married and has two sons — both of whom are graduates of Grand Valley State.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is a global company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of passenger car, light truck and medium truck tires. The company has subsidiaries that specialize in motorcycle and racing tires, as well as tread rubber and related equipment for the retread industry. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has 59 manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design facilities within its family of companies located around the world.

The lecture continues an annual series that pays tribute to longtime Grand Valley State University professor Barry Castro, who died in 2005. Castro joined Grand Valley in 1973. He taught courses on ethics and established the Center for Business Ethics in Seidman College of Business. The center is a roundtable of CEOs, faculty and other community leaders who meet together to discuss ethical issues related to business. Castro also initiated and led seminars with CEOs who read Plato and discussed the ethical applications of his works to businesses.