Bill Baker to Retire After a 30-Year Career in Automotive Public Relations

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 18, 2003 -- William E. "Bill" Baker will close a 30-year career in automotive public relations when he retires December 31, 2003 from his position as Director, Special Projects for Land Rover North America, Inc. Baker was one of the original eight executives who founded the company that brought the Range Rover to America in 1986 leading to the luxury sport utility phenomenon.

Baker, 59, served as Vice President of Corporate Communications from 1988 until taking up a three and a half year assignment in Britain in 1997 to chair the global 50th anniversary celebration for Land Rover and to launch the compact Freelander and Discovery Series II vehicles. He returned to the US after Ford Motor Company acquired Land Rover in 2000, relocating to Irvine, California in 2001 when Land Rover was merged with Jaguar and Aston Martin under the Premier Automotive Group.

Baker has spent nearly 18 years with the company directing product launches, retailer communications, media relations. He served on the Operating Committee of Land Rover North America and is best known for staging expeditions to exotic parts of the world to demonstrate Land Rover capabilities and to promote their safe, environmentally responsible use.

"Bill was instrumental in getting the media to pay attention to a small company selling niche products by using innovative and creative techniques to involve the press in the world in which Land Rover is used," said Mike O'Driscoll, president of Aston Martin Jaguar Land Rover. "I would like to pay tribute to his long, varied and distinguished career and wish him a long and happy retirement with his wife Marylynn."

Larry Rosinski, 36, will succeed Baker, becoming Director of Land Rover Communications O'Driscoll announced. Rosinski has been with the Land Rover organization since 2000 as the Market Research Manager, having joined from an 11-year career at Maritz Research. Rosinski is a 1989 graduate of Miami University of Ohio with a Bachelor's degree in marketing and statistics.

"Larry's a solid manager and team builder who understands the product and the marketplace," said O'Driscoll. "We're counting on him to lead communications through what will be the most dramatic product introduction program in Land Rover's history in the US market, in the next few years. To do this he will work very closely with me and the Land Rover North American and HQ management and PR teams, to provide the best possible service to the media."

Bill Baker began his working career as a broadcast newsman in Akron and Cleveland, Ohio. A life-long car enthusiast, Baker started a road test series in the sports segment of WEWS-TV news in Cleveland. It caught the attention of Ford Motor Company which hired him in 1973 to be part of its broadcast media relations and communications department.

Bill moved from Ford to join Volvo as manager of public relations in 1995. In 1998 he moved to Fiat, Lancia, Ferrari North America where he served as Director of Corporate Communications. When Fiat left the US market, Baker became Vice President Corporate Communications for Sony Corporation of America where he was credited with leading the industry coalition that won the historic "Betamax Case." In 1983, Baker established his own public relations firm serving Chrysler and other accounts on the East Coast until joining Land Rover in 1986.

Baker was a Founder of Tread Lightly! Inc., a non-profit organization created to protect public lands; a Founder of the Washington Automotive Press Association and a past Director of the International Motor Press Association. He currently serves as a Member of the Board of the non-profit Drive Around the World organization of Los Gatos, California, which is staging a global expedition to raise funds for Parkinson's disease research.

Baker attended the University of Illinois and Kent State University as well as various professional seminars including crisis communication and conflict resolution at Harvard University. He was a guest lecturer at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and at the University of Maryland School of Journalism. Baker's role in launching a premium British vehicle in the North American market, and the company's subsequent success, is a case study at the Harvard Business School.

Calling on his film and video communication skills during his years at Land Rover, Baker produced and narrated numerous documentaries about Land Rover expeditions. These included the Great Divide Expedition, ESPN, 1989; La Ruta Maya, espn2, 1994; Mongolia: An Expedition of Discovery, The Learning Channel, 1997; Adventure Quest, espn2; 1995. These, and other productions, have taken Baker to nearly 70 countries and earned him membership in the prestigious Explorer's Club. In 1999, he participated in a humanitarian relief effort to Bosnia-Herzegovina and was instrumental in getting Land Rover vehicles for relief work to Albania during the Kosovo war.

"To be able to combine one's passion -- cars -- with one's vocation makes the job so much more rewarding. To have helped grow the Land Rover brand and be a part of its legend, has been a great privilege," said Baker. "I've met many dedicated people within the company and fascinating characters all over the world. I can only say 'Thank You,' to those who had confidence in me, and to my wife and family who had to eat quite a few dinners alone over the years."

Baker and his wife Marylynn will remain in Laguna Niguel, California where he plans to do documentary production, spend more time on his sailboat and be able to visit their two daughters and two grandchildren.