2007 Management Briefing Seminars Announces Speakers for ‘The Road Ahead: Discontinuous Change’

The current state of the international automotive industry isn’t one of gradual and incremental change. It’s the necessary reality of deep transformational change — making the path ahead for every automotive organization particularly difficult to negotiate.

“The Road Ahead: Discontinuous Change” will be addressed by leaders from manufacturers, suppliers and other key stakeholders at the annual Management Briefing Seminars, August 6-10 near Traverse City, Michigan. The seminars are sponsored by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) and have been an industry tradition for more than 40 years.

OEM representatives Alan Mulally, president/CEO of Ford Motor Company; Jim Lentz, executive vice president, Toyota Motor Sales, USA; Frank Klegon, executive vice president, product development, Chrysler; Bo Andersson, group vice president, global purchasing and supply chain, General Motors Corporation and John Krafcik, vice president, product development and strategic planning, Hyundai Motor America will be joined by Chip McClure, chairman, CEO & president, ArvinMeritor and Mark Hogan, president, Magna International; and Jim Orchard, President, Faurecia North America.

“The industry is operating in a highly turbulent and unpredictable environment. As the industry faces these challenges, events are continuing to unfold at a rapid pace that will help shape the future,” said David E. Cole, chairman of CAR. “The Management Briefing Seminars bring together key leaders who are in the position to provide insight and understanding on life in the fast lane of discontinuous change.”

More than 1,000 attendees are expected to participate in targeted workshops, senior-level executive panels and highly-valued networking opportunities. The Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 8-9) general automotive sessions will focus on critical global strategies; a special session is planned on labor, policy and financial issues for Wednesday afternoon, followed by a session focused on commercializing innovation on Thursday afternoon.

Speakers in other sessions will address game-changing issues such as the impact of globalization on manufacturing; the explosion of innovation and how it needs to be put into products and processes; and the continued — and growing — impact of the connected vehicle on Monday and Tuesday, August 6 and 7. On Friday, August 10, the Advanced Powertrain Forum provides an update on developments, including the advances in biofuels and the electrification of the vehicle; several automotive analysts will also provide their perspectives on the week’s critical issues in a session on suppllier strategies and tactics. An up-to-date listing of speakers and sessions is available on CAR’s website: www.cargroup.org.

CAR’s mission is to conduct research on significant issues related to the future direction of the global automotive industry, as well as organize and conduct forums of value to the automotive community.

Early registration for the 2007 Management Briefing Seminars is available by visiting www.cargroup.org. Media representatives may attend at no charge. For more information regarding MBS registration, as well as exhibit and sponsorship opportunities, contact the Center for Automotive Research at (734) 662-1287.