Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. I'm your Chairman of the Board, Richard Kramer. With me today is Dan Young, our Secretary, and Darren Wells, our Chief Financial Officer.
Posted on the meeting website, you will see the 2021 proxy statement, the meeting agenda, and the rules of conduct of the meeting. I call your particular attention to these rules. You may vote your shares during the meeting through the website. If you wish to ask a question, you should submit it through the chat feature on the website. As noted in the rules of conduct, please identify yourself when submitting a question.
Any motion properly brought before this meeting will be acted upon without a second. The Board of Directors appointed Carl Wagner to act as inspector of the election. He has reported to me that more than a majority of the shares outstanding and entitled to vote at this meeting are represented either in person or by proxy. This constitutes a quorum. The Inspector of Election will prepare a final report of the number of shares voted, which will be filed with the minutes of this meeting. The minutes of last year's Annual Meeting of Shareholders are available for your inspection upon request to the Secretary's Office, so I will not read them at this meeting.
As shareholders, you have all received a copy of the company's annual report, which includes the audited consolidated financial statements of the company and its subsidiaries for the year ended December 31st, 2020, and the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm. A copy of the annual report will be filed with the minutes of this meeting.
The first order of business is the election of 13 persons to the Board of Directors. Each nominee elected as a director will serve a one-year term expiring at next year's Annual Meeting of Shareholders and until his or her successor is elected and qualified. I now recognize Mr. Young.
I hereby nominate for the office of director of the company each of the following 13 persons selected by the Governance Committee and your Board of Directors and named in the proxy statement, each to serve a one-year term expiring at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders: James Firestone, Werner Geissler, Peter Hellman, Laurette Koellner, Richard Kramer, Karla Lewis, Alan McCollough, John McGlade, Roderick Palmore, Hera Siu, Stephanie Streeter, Michael Wessel, and Thomas Williams.
Thank you. No other nominations were received before the deadline set forth in our code of regulations. There being no further nominations, I declare the nominations closed. Shares represented by valid proxies received prior to this meeting have been voted.
The Inspector of Election has informed me that each of the 13 candidates nominated by the Board of Directors as a director has received sufficient votes cast for their election to be elected as a director of the company to hold office until the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and until his or her successor is elected and qualified. The meeting will now vote upon proposal number two to approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers. I now recognize Mr. Young.
I move for the adoption of the following resolution. Resolved that the shareholders of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the named executive officers as disclosed in the company's proxy statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
Shares represented by valid proxies received prior to this meeting have been voted. The Inspector of Election has informed me that 69% of the votes cast on the matter voted for the advisory resolution approving the compensation of our named executive officers. Therefore, the resolution has been adopted.
The meeting will now vote upon proposal number three to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm for the company for 2021. I now recognize Mr. Young.
I move for the adoption of the following resolution. Resolved that the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm for the company for the year ending December 31, 2021, is hereby ratified.
Shares represented by valid proxies received prior to this meeting have been voted. The Inspector of Election has informed me that 83% of the outstanding shares voted for the resolution ratifying the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2021. Therefore, the resolution has been adopted.
Proposal number four was submitted by a shareholder. I now recognize John Chevedden for the purpose of presenting the shareholder proposal, excuse me. O perator, p lease place Mr. Chevedden on the line to present his proposal.
Hello. This is John Chevedden. Can you hear me okay?
Yes, we can. Go ahead.
Hello. This is John Chevedden. Can you hear me okay?
Yes, Mr. Chevedden. We can hear you fine.
Okay. Proposal four, special shareholder meeting improvement. Shareholders ask our board to take the steps necessary to amend the governing documents to give the owners of a combined 10% of our outstanding common stock the power to call a special shareholder meeting. This proposal is more important because Goodyear stock has dropped from $27 to $17 in five years.
Currently, it takes formal steps by 35% of the shares that normally cast ballots at the annual meeting to call a special shareholder meeting. Goodyear management failed to convince the Securities and Exchange Commission that this 35% figure was incorrect. And during the past year of the pandemic, there has been a dramatic development in shareholder meetings. The pandemic has resulted in in-person shareholder meetings being converted to online shareholder meetings. Thus, a special shareholder meeting can now be an online shareholder meeting, which is so much easier for management and less beneficial for shareholders.
Management is increasingly protected at online shareholder meetings, and this means that shareholders should have a corresponding greater flexibility in calling for a special shareholder meeting. With online shareholder meetings, management has the option of screening out constructive criticism of management. Thus, the core agenda of such an online meeting can simply be the announcement of the vote.
For instance, Goodyear management hit the mute button right in the middle of a formal shareholder proposal presentation at a 2020 online shareholder meeting to bar constructive criticism. Plus, AT&T management would not even allow the proponents of shareholder proposals to read their proposals by telephone at the 2020 AT&T online annual meeting during pandemic travel restrictions.
The current stock ownership of 35% of shares that normally cast ballots at annual meetings to call for a special shareholder meeting can mean that more than 50% of shareholders must be contacted during a short window of time to simply call a special shareholder meeting. Plus, many shareholders who are convinced that a special meeting should be called can make a small paperwork error that will disqualify them from counting towards the 35% ownership that is now needed for a special shareholder meeting.
A more accessible means to call a special shareholder meeting will give shareholders an additional means to complain about Goodyear management pay, especially since our stock has fallen from $27 to $17 in five years. It can also lead to the election of a new director to replace the current chair of the management pay committee. Goodyear management pay was on the ballot today and received only a marginal rating from a major independent proxy advisor, and meanwhile, shareholders have taken significant stock price losses. Please vote yes, special shareholder meeting improvement, proposal four.
Thank you, Mr. Chevedden, for your proposal and for your participation. You've heard the motion. The Board of Directors recommends that shareholders vote against the adoption of the shareholder proposal. Shares represented by valid proxies received prior to this meeting have been voted. The Inspector of Election has informed me that 28% of the outstanding shares voted for the shareholder proposal. Therefore, the shareholder proposal has not been approved.
The Inspector of Election will complete the official count of votes and prepare a final report of all votes cast at this meeting. This report will be filed with the minutes of this meeting. In addition, the official voting results will be included in a Form 8-K that will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days.
No other business was duly submitted for consideration at this meeting. I would now like to take some time to make a few remarks. I would like to welcome Goodyear shareholders, former Goodyear associates, current associates, and others who have joined us virtually today.
When we met in this format a year ago, we anticipated being back to a traditional in-person meeting this year. However, even as COVID vaccinations are increasing, this format remains the safest option. We appreciate your ongoing support and confidence, especially in light of the ongoing pandemic.
Though my remarks today will be brief, I would like to mention a few things that stood out over the past year. As everyone is aware, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a disruption unlike anything we've experienced in our history, b ut as we've done in every other instance, Goodyear responded to the conditions, changed how we worked, and remained vital to moving the world forward. Our priority was, and still is, the health and well-being of our associates around the world. And while the pandemic forced changes in how we worked, our associates, individually and as teams, delivered outstanding performance in the face of unique challenges. By supporting essential workers in critical businesses, we kept the world moving.
At the same time, we took important steps to preserve the health of our business. We adjusted our goals to focus on maintaining or gaining share, reducing costs, and strengthening cash flow. We executed cost savings programs without reducing new product development and enhanced our service offerings. As a result, we increased our share of market in several important segments, reduced costs with minimal effect on our operations, and exceeded our expectations on cash flow. At all levels, our teams met the demands of the moment and continued to drive significant progress in critical areas of our business.
For example, we enhanced our original equipment pipeline in the consumer tire business, winning fitments representing more than 9 million units of future volume, with many on electric vehicles. In our commercial truck tire business, we launched new tire management tools and fuel-efficient products that allowed us to continue winning with commercial fleets. We strengthened our leadership position in the field of new mobility with new partnerships, products, and service offerings, and we reinforced and increased our commitment to sustainability.
Overall, one of the things that gives us the greatest satisfaction from the past year was our ability to restore the momentum we had coming into 2020 by year-end, as evidenced by our strong fourth quarter results. Even during a pandemic, we didn't stand still. We won new commercial fleet customers such as Ryder in the U.S. and XPO in Europe. We earned OE fitments from the new Hummer EV in the U.S. to the Ford Transit in Europe, a critical vehicle for last-mile deliveries.
We launched AndGo, a fully integrated platform for passenger fleet service. We pushed ahead on driving a ligned distribution, especially in Europe and Asia. And we accelerated our development of our intelligent tire, which has now logged more than 1 billion miles of real-world on-the-road testing. In addition, our growth areas, our growth in areas such as e-commerce, mobile installation, and total mobility solutions for commercial fleets remained on track and differentiated us from the competition in the pandemic environment.
Around the world, our portfolio of products won awards and third-party recognition. We can credibly say that Goodyear has never had a better lineup of tires in our more than 120-year history. And as we turn the calendar to 2021, that portfolio promises to be even stronger.
The credit for our progress amidst the disruption of 2020 goes to our associates around the world. They found new ways to work, stayed close to our customers and to each other, and were unrelenting in moving our business forward. And they did it in ways we couldn't have imagined a year earlier.
And another result of that commitment was the announced acquisition of Cooper Tire. Though the transaction falls outside of 2020, I want to touch on it briefly today. The acquisition will combine each of our many assets to create a stronger, more competitive company in the global tire industry.
This integration of our two companies will offer important benefits to all stakeholders. With increased scale, we will further strengthen Goodyear's leadership position in the U.S. and nearly double our presence in China. Broader global distribution will accelerate growth of the Cooper brand around the world and further enhance our dealer service.
Our retail partners will have access to more comprehensive offerings with more of our products on their shelves, including an array of brands across the value spectrum. Consumers will have more choices, both at our retailers and on our industry-leading e-commerce websites. We'll be able to take advantage of Cooper's strengths in popular product segments and enhance our depth in light truck and SUV tires to meet the needs of more customers and consumers.
And from a financial perspective, this transaction is expected to provide significant immediate and long-term financial benefits, offering the opportunity for increased sales and earnings, an improved balance sheet, and enhanced cost efficiency. We'll have an even stronger foundation to drive the performance of the business, invest in growth and innovation, and bolster our leadership in new mobility and fleet solutions. Simply put, we'll be an even stronger business, able to grow faster and to expand further.
Now, as a reminder, until we complete this transaction, which is expected during the second half of 2021, Goodyear and Cooper remain separate companies and continue to operate as we do today, business as usual. But each company is fortunate to have talented and dedicated associates. By joining forces, we will infuse the combined company with terrific talent through our best-of-both-worlds approach to integration.
As I look back at 2020 and as a year unlike any other becomes more distant, my admiration for what we accomplished continues to grow. We stayed agile, acted with urgency, and never became complacent. We took care of our customers and each other, and when the market began to recover, we grew our share and outperformed the industry in a variety of measures.
Over the past year, Goodyear was put to the test, and our accomplishments increased our confidence, reaffirmed our strategy, and provided optimism for the year ahead. Again, thank you for joining us today. We hope all of you are staying safe and healthy and taking care of yourselves, your families, and your loved ones. Now, we'll open up the call to questions.
Thank you, Mr. Kramer. There are currently no questions. I now turn it over to you to close the event.
Thank you very much for your continued support of our company this past year. There being no other business, I now declare this meeting adjourned and that the polls be closed. Thank you.