GlobalAutoIndustry.com Partners with Thunderbird to Offer International Business Education to Global Automotive Community

TROY, Mich.--Sept. 1, 2004--GlobalAutoIndustry.com announced that it is joining with Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management, one of the world's foremost graduate schools for international business, to provide advanced business education to the global automotive supplier community.

Thunderbird, based in Glendale, Ariz. with operations in France, Russia, and China, is now the exclusive resource for executive education, graduate degree programs and online courses for international business education for GlobalAutoIndustry.com.

Thunderbird is ranked the No. 1 school specializing in international business by U.S. News & World Report , the Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek, and recently received the largest naming gift ever received by a business school, $60 million.

"We are very excited about offering the Thunderbird international business programs to our automotive supplier customers worldwide," states Ron Hesse, president and CEO of GlobalAutoIndustry.com, adding "Thunderbird is the leader in educating business and helping them succeed internationally. Together we will help automotive supplier management become more competitive globally."

"I don't think there is an industry in the world that is affected more by recent trends toward globalization than the automotive industry," says Jerome Couturier, senior vice president of Thunderbird Executive Education. "Thunderbird's expertise in key verticals such as global supply chain and cross-cultural management can help the automotive supplier community expand globally without making the mistakes other have made."

About Thunderbird

Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management is the oldest graduate management school in the United States focused solely on preparing international business leaders. Ranked among the best in the world by Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal and Business Week, the School's unique curriculum is based on the principle that to do business on a global scale, executives must not only know the intricacies of business, but also understand the customs of other countries and be able to communicate with different cultures. More than 33,500 men and women in 139 different countries have graduated from Thunderbird since 1946. Thunderbird is accredited by AACSB-International Association for Management Education, the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), and the North Central Association for Colleges and Schools. To learn more, visit: www.Thunderbird.edu.

About GlobalAutoIndustry.com

GlobalAutoIndustry.com connects the worldwide auto supplier industry with the resources to effectively do business globally. Through the web site, www.GlobalAutoIndustry.com, auto supplier executives can find insight, solutions and strategies focused on doing business in the world's top automotive markets.

Monthly eJournals provide targeted information and insight on doing business in foreign markets and GlobalAutoIndustry.com Solutions provide effective international answers to suppliers' global business and operational needs.

Parent company, HCI Group Ltd., is based in Troy, Mich., with European headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

For more information contact President & CEO Ron Hesse at (248) 526-3312 or RHesse@GlobalAutoIndustry.com.