AIAG's Board Names J. Scot Sharland as New Executive Director

DETROIT, Sept. 7 -- The board of directors of the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) announced today the appointment of J. Scot Sharland to the position of executive director effective Sept. 1, 2005.

In this role, Sharland will guide the organization in pursuing the goals and objectives established by the AIAG board of directors.

"Scot Sharland has a dynamic personality and is an experienced professional with an impressive and extensive industry background -- in both North America and globally," said Scott Gray, chairman of the board. "We have an ambitious agenda for AIAG and believe Scot's leadership will enable the association to continue improving supply chain business processes and support our OEM and supplier members as we face the challenges and issues of these trying industry times. We welcome him aboard."

Possessing 28 years experience in the automotive industry, Sharland most recently was managing director for Grote & Hartmann GmbH in Germany (now part of Lear Corp.), a European electrical connector company. Prior to this, he served as managing director for Framatome Connectors International in France.

Sharland also was vice president of marketing and sales for American Team, Inc., a custom molding business providing design, prototype, tooling, molding, decoration and assembly of plastic parts and components to automotive OEM and supplier customers. Additionally, he spent 13 years with the General Electric Co.'s specialty materials business in marketing, sales and management positions serving both OEMs and suppliers.

Sharland is a graduate of Syracuse University in New York and resides in Troy, Mich.

About AIAG

Founded in 1982, AIAG is a globally recognized organization where OEMs and suppliers unite to address and resolve issues affecting the worldwide automotive supply chain. AIAG's goals are to reduce cost and complexity through collaboration; improve product quality, health, safety and the environment; and optimize speed to market throughout the supply chain. Headquartered in the metro Detroit area, its more than 1,500 member companies include North American, European and Asia-Pacific OEMs and suppliers to the automotive industry. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.aiag.org/ .