Ford Europe Exec Named Woman of the Year by Automotive News Europe

COLOGNE , January 21, 2008 – Birgit Behrendt, vice president, purchasing, Ford of Europe, today was announced "Woman of the Year" by the magazine Automotive News Europe.

Ms. Behrendt, 48, is responsible for overseeing purchasing for the Ford brand throughout Europe. She was appointed to this position in February 2004 and is responsible for the second largest account within Ford purchasing behind the Americas. She has a team of 500 people, 35 percent of which are women.

This prestigious award, introduced by Automotive News Europe in 1996, is presented annually to an outstanding business woman from the automotive industry in Europe. Birgit Behrendt is the fourth Ford group executive to be awarded this distinction.

In her citation, the panel of Automotive News Europe judges, headed by editor-in-chief Arjen Bongard, stated: "Every year we identify outstanding women in the European auto industry. We selected Birgit for her contribution to the growing success of Ford of Europe's operations as well as her work in the supplier OEM relations arena.

"Suppliers are becoming more and more important to automakers. If you see how much of the car cost comes from suppliers and how much of the innovation in the car comes from suppliers, it is crucial that an OEM like Ford works well with suppliers. The other reason we are honoring Birgit with this award is that she played a key role in helping the company grow. And of course that's always a team effort, but Birgit is the only woman on the Board of Ford of Europe and is actually the only woman on the Board of any automaker in Europe."

Birgit Behrendt will be finally presented with her award at a ceremony in Turin in May.

Before being appointed to the position of vice president, purchasing, Birgit Behrendt was director for global body and exterior purchasing from September 2000 to February 2004. Prior to September 2000, she was a program manager for vehicle procurement operations and manager global strategy for the purchasing business office in the US.

Ms. Behrendt joined Ford-Werke AG in Cologne in 1978 as a commercial apprentice. She holds a business degree from the Administration and Business Academy (Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftsakademie) in Cologne.