| PONTIAC, MI - Connie M. Corwin has been named plant manager for the GM
Powertrain Fredricksburg, Va., components plant. The announcement was made by J. Michael
Williams, manufacturing manager of GM Powertrain's (GMPT) Casting Operations. Corwin's
position is effective October 16, 1999. She replaces Rodney M. Black, who was recently
named director of Powertrain Operations at Saturn Corporation. Corwin will report to Joe
Choate, plant manager of GMPT's Flint Component Operations. "Connie will make an
excellent addition to the GMPT Fredricksburg plant," said Mike Williams. "She
has significant GM experience and has served in manufacturing and manufacturing
engineering capacities at several GM Powertrain facilities. We welcome her to GM's
Fredricksburg facility and to the Fredricksburg community." Corwin began her GM
career as a college cooperative student at Kettering University (formerly GMI) in Flint,
Mich. After graduating from Kettering in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in Industrial
Engineering, she worked in a number of positions at GM's Central Foundry Division in both
Defiance, Ohio, and Saginaw, Mich. In the early 1990's, Corwin worked as a superintendent
of production in the GM Powertrain Transmission plant in Toledo, Ohio, and then in GMPT's
Willow Run facility in Ypsilanti, Mich.
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| Dearborn, Mich. - To help achieve its vision of becoming the world's
leading consumer company for automotive products and services, Ford Motor Company is
establishing strategic business units that complement the company's global scale and
structure. Consumer-Focused Organization Beginning Jan. 1, 2000, Ford will establish
strategic business units to more closely target consumers' needs and react quickly to
changing market conditions. Four business units will focus on the Ford brand, including
Ford North America, Ford Europe, Ford Asia Pacific and Ford South America. The Ford North
America business unit will include Ford Car, Ford Truck, Ford Division, Ford Canada and
Ford Mexico.
The Premier Automotive Group will have separate global strategic business units:
Jaguar; Aston Martin; Volvo; and Lincoln and Mercury. There will be four business units
that continue to focus on Ford's automotive service brands: Ford Credit; Hertz; Customer
Service and a new global enterprise responsible for e-business initiatives and FIECO. In
addition, Mazda and Visteon will operate as global business units.
The business units will have key metrics and new systems to develop a deeper
understanding of consumers' needs. They will have the tools to measure consumers'
experiences with the company's products and services, and the resources and strategic
alignment to determine how best to anticipate and satisfy consumers' needs and deliver
shareholder value. Building on Ford 2000 Principles Under Ford 2000, the company's
strategy to leverage global economies of scale and streamline global business processes,
Ford increased its product offerings, improved quality and productivity, reduced total
costs by more than $5 billion and achieved 13 consecutive quarters of improved profits.
There will continue to be global organizations for product development and quality,
manufacturing, purchasing, marketing and other functional organizations. They will manage
global priorities, processes, platforms and technology resources and maximize global
efficiencies.
Leadership for the Future To support the consumer-focused organization, Nasser
announced a number of new leadership appointments for the strategic business units and the
global centers of excellence. The appointments are effective Jan. 1, 2000, and include:
- Carlos Mazzorin, group vice president, Global Purchasing and South
America
- Robert L. Rewey, group vice president, Global Consumer Services and
North America
- Henry D. G. Wallace, group vice president and chief financial officer
- Gurminder S. Bedi, vice president, North America Truck
- William W. Boddie, vice president, Global Core Engineering
- Terry M. de Jonckheere, vice president and president, Ford South
America
- I. Martin Inglis, vice president, Ford North America
- Vaughn A. Koshkarian, vice president, Ford Asia Pacific
- Martin R. Leach, vice president, Product Development, Ford Europe
- Shamel T. Rushwin, vice president, Vehicle Operations
- Nick Scheele, vice president and chairman, Ford Europe
- Chris P. Theodore, vice president, North America Car
- David W. Thursfield, vice president and president, Ford Europe
- Al P. Ver, vice president, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering
Other corporate officers remain in their current positions.
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| Southfield, Mich - The Dow Chemical Company announced that it has named
Dow Automotive as its first industry-focused business unit. The new Dow Automotive will
integrate Essex Specialty Products and its joint venture partnerships and resources to
offer an even broader product portfolio including adhesives, sealants and coatings. Dow
Automotive and Essex facilities worldwide will take part in the transition process. "As
The Dow Chemical Company takes another major step in its transformation to become a more
solutions-oriented science and technology company, it has named Dow Automotive its first
'company within a company,' to operate with higher aspirations and breadth of service than
ever before," according to Bill Stavropoulos, CEO, The Dow Chemical Company."
Lawrence A. Denton has been named president of the organization. Denton joined Dow
Automotive in 1996 as global vice president, following a 24-year career with Ford Motor
Company, where he held a number of engineering and managerial positions.
The growth initiative builds upon the success of Essex Specialty Products and its
various joint venture relationships. Integrating these companies into Dow Automotive will
result in a broader product offering that includes plastics, adhesives, sealants,
reinforcing and acoustical management systems for use in automotive applications for
interior, exterior, and chassis/powertrain components and systems. |
