Sun Microsystems VP Joins Covisint Board of Directors ("TLL")

Be sure to read our opinionated reaction to this posting in "The Last Line"(TLL), (at the bottom of this story...where else?)

DETROIT, Feb. 14 -- Covisint today announced the addition of Marissa Peterson, executive vice president, worldwide operations, Sun Microsystems, Inc. to the company's Board of Directors. She is the 15th member to join the board since its inception last year.

Ms. Peterson is an engineering and management expert with more than 20 years of related experience. At Sun, she is responsible for setting operations strategy and holds accountability for materials and supply chain management, manufacturing, operations engineering and logistics.

``Marissa's credentials in product management and global operations are unmatched,'' said Kevin W. English, chairman, president and CEO of Covisint. ``We are confident that her advice and counsel will help guide Covisint's continuing success.''

``I have been very impressed thus far by Covisint's efforts to connect the automotive industry and its growth as an independent company,'' said Ms. Peterson. ``It will be my pleasure to lend my expertise to help Covisint in its efforts to achieve its goal of becoming the operating system for the automotive industry.''

Ms. Peterson has been awarded with the Sun Microsystems President's Excellence Award, the Silicon Valley Tribute to Women and Industry Award and Kettering University Management Achievement Award. She is on the Board of Trustees of Kettering University and on the Executive Advisory Board of the Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing at Stanford University.

Before her current appointment at Sun, Ms. Peterson served as vice president of worldwide logistics and customer quality. Under her leadership, Sun gained industry recognition for its fully leveraged, globally seamless logistics model.

Previously, as director of manufacturing, she championed a new worker- centered paradigm focused on cellular manufacturing, improving flexibility and productivity while increasing capacity.

Prior to joining Sun, Ms. Peterson worked as a management consultant at Booz, Allen and Hamilton and in various marketing, financial and engineering positions with Saturn Corporation and various GM divisions. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Harvard University.

About Covisint

Covisint is a global solutions provider partnering with the automotive industry. Our focus is to improve the effectiveness of mission-critical processes such as collaborative product development, procurement and supply chain management, which will enhance our customers' product quality, cost structure and time-to-market worldwide. Covisint was founded by DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Renault, Commerce One and Oracle. Since its inception, PSA Peugeot Citroen has also joined the initiative. Covisint has headquarters in Amsterdam, Tokyo and Southfield, Michigan. For more information about Covisint, visit www.covisint.com .

The Last Line: Is this appointment a direct reaction to Microsofts foray into software for the automotive industry? Will the auto industry have to choose sides?...and isn't this a conflict of interest, how can Covisint ever choose to utilize anything but Sun systems to run their buying service? Opinion from, your humble editor