SAE International and Convergence Transportation Electronics Association Announce New Joint Program Office

WARRENDALE, Pa., March 4 -- SAE International (SAE) and the Convergence Transportation Electronics Association (CTEA) are pleased to announce the recent signing of a joint agreement and the formation of the Convergence Transportation Electronics Program Office.

This agreement brings together two leading technical and business information providers to the automotive electronics industry with the goal of providing leadership and guidance for the future success of automotive electronics professionals and the constituent companies they represent. The Convergence Transportation Electronics Program Office, which is housed within the operating structure of SAE, will monitor the activities of SAE and CTEA in the area of transportation electronics and related fields; identify areas of opportunity and synergy, such as new products, services, and programs; coordinate activities as appropriate; and propose new joint activities.

"We have enjoyed a long association with CTEA and are pleased to formalize our relationship with the signing of this joint agreement," said Raymond A. Morris, SAE Executive Vice President. "We share a fundamental belief that our organizations can achieve quicker and greater success by working together."

CTEA Chairman Dennis Wilkie said, "The CTEA is pleased to join forces with an organization with the breadth of SAE in Automotive Technology. This agreement will allow us to jointly assure that the CTEA and SAE remains the premier entities in transportation electronics for many years."

The Program Office is comprised of leaders from both SAE and CTEA. Myron Trenne, Vice President at Yazaki North America, will serve as Chairman of the Program Office. Other confirmed members of the Program Office are Jacqui Dedo, Vice President and General Manager, Worldwide Market Operations Automotive, Communications and Electronic Systems at Motorola; Robert Rivard, Vice President at Robert Bosch Corporation; Leonard Tedesco at Visteon, and Cary Wilson, Director Electrical / Electronic Systems at Ford Motor Company. Additional members will be announced as they are confirmed.

Another component of this joint agreement focuses on the two organizations moving in the direction of jointly operating the popular biennial Convergence Conference and Exhibition beginning with Convergence 2006. SAE has been involved in the Convergence Conference since its inception in 1974, most recently coordinating the 2002 exhibit. For Convergence 2004, SAE will maintain its role in producing the exhibition portion of the event. Gerhard Schmidt, Vice President, Research at Ford Motor Company is the Chairman for Convergence 2004 as Ford Motor Company serves as the Host Company for Convergence 2004.

As SAE and CTEA move forward in this new agreement, they will jointly be responsible for the administration of the entire event, and will continue to enlist top level industry executives and a host company for the conference executive committee, keynote speakers, and session chairmen which have given the conference its outstanding reputation.

SAE and CTEA media contact: Steve Yaeger, (724) 772-4068, or syaeger@sae.org.

SAE is a non-profit engineering and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of mobility technology to better serve humanity. Nearly 84,000 engineers and scientists who are SAE members develop technical information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles, including automobiles, aircraft, aerospace craft, trucks, buses, marine, rail and transit machinery. This information is disseminated through SAE meetings, books, electronic products and databases, technical papers, standards, reports, and professional development programs.