Auto Leaders to Address Trends, Issues Affecting Market Share, Profitability, Reports Coopers & Lybrand
5 December 1997
At World Congress, Automotive Leaders to Address Trends, Issues Affecting Market Share, Profitability, Reports Coopers & Lybrand
DETROIT, Dec. 5 -- At least 30 of the world's most innovative
and successful automotive executives will take part in the l998 Automotive
News World Congress, Jan. 11-14, at the Westin Hotel in Detroit, reports
Coopers & Lybrand.
Under the theme, "Leaders to Leaders: A World of Profitable Ideas,"
industry captains will explore issues and trends affecting automotive
suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers. Topics will cover future supplier
roles, global sourcing and pricing, innovative media and marketing and
emerging retail channels. The program will include two panel discussions on
retailing and one each on purchasing and manufacturing.
The Congress will get under way Sunday evening, Jan. 11, when Alex
Trotman, Chairman and CEO, Ford Motor Co., and Victor Rice, CEO of
LucasVarity, Inc., deliver keynote addresses during the opening dinner. On
Monday morning, safety and globalization will be spotlighted by speakers
Ricardo Martinez, M.D., Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, and Herbert Demel, Chairman, Volkswagen do Brasil SA. Sharing
the morning podium will be C. Scott Greer, President, UT Automotive; and James
G. O'Connor, Vice President and General Manager, Lincoln-Mercury Division.
Focusing on cost cutting, a manufacturing panel session on "The Suppliers'
Role in the Plant of the Future," on Monday afternoon will feature Dennis
Pawley, Executive Vice President, Manufacturing, Chrysler Corp.; Robert Birch,
Vice President, Purchasing & Logistics, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International;
Joseph Magliochetti, President, Dana Corp.; and Michael DaPrile, Vice
President of Assembly, Toyota Motor Corp.
Concurrently, the first retail panel will discuss the impact of technology
in "New Media & New Marketing Opportunities." Members will include Gail
Duncan, President, Jerome-Duncan Ford; Scott Waldron, Vice President, Systems
Marketing Automotive Division, Reynolds and Reynolds; K. Winslow Farrell, Jr.,
Partner, Emergent Solutions Group, Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.; and Peter Ellis,
President & CEO, Auto-By-Tel.
Monday evening's keynote speakers will be Harry Pearce, Vice Chairman,
General Motors Corp., and Robert Lutz, Vice Chairman, Chrysler Corp.
On Tuesday morning, brand imaging will be the topic for speakers Roy
Roberts, Vice President and General Manager, Pontiac-GMC Division; Dr. Marcus
Chao, Vice President, Chief Representative China Operations, Delphi Automotive
Systems, Inc.; J. Davis Illingworth, Jr., Group Vice President, Toyota
Division, Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc.; and W. Austin Ligon, President,
CarMax.
The second panel on retailing will convene Tuesday afternoon to address
"Dealer Consolidation: Emerging Retail Channels." Members will be: Tom
Pappert, Vice President, Sales and Service, Chrysler Corp.; Ramsay Gillman,
President, National Automobile Dealers Association; Dan Myers, Partner,
Forehand & Fuller, and Edd Roggenkamp, General Manager, Dealer Network
Investment & Development, General Motors Corp.
At the same time, the second supplier panel will discuss global sourcing
and the quest for zero defects. Addressing the topic, " Global
Sourcing/Global Pricing -- Dealing with Pricing on Several Continents," will
be Robert Rossiter, President and COO, International Operations, Lear Corp.;
Thomas Stallkamp, Vice President, Procurement & Supply, Large Car Operations,
Chrysler Corp.; Harold Kutner, Vice President, Worldwide Purchasing, General
Motor Corp., and Jean Wolff, president of Sogedac S.A., Peugeot Purchasing.
Finally, keynote speakers for Tuesday night's gala dinner will be Jurgen
Schrempp, Chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler-Benz; and H. Wayne
Huizenga, Chairman, Republic Industries, Inc.
Automotive News World Congress is co-sponsored by Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.
The Detroit office of Coopers & Lybrand is the world headquarters for the
firm's automotive consulting practice.
Stephen R. D'Arcy, managing partner at Coopers & Lybrand, said, "The
continued participation of our automotive practice in World Congress reaffirms
our firm's commitment to support an informative and insightful conference
where automotive executives can exchange ideas and explore issues and trends
with the industry's global leaders."
One of the world's leading professional service firms, Coopers & Lybrand
L.L.P. provides globally integrated services for enterprises in a wide range
of industries. The firm offers its clients the expertise of more than 16,000
professionals and staff in offices in 100 U.S. cities, and through the member
firms of Coopers & Lybrand International, more than 74,000 people in 142
countries.
Founded in 1925, Automotive News is published each Monday in Detroit by
Crain Communications Inc., a privately held company that publishes 30
consumer, business and trade publications.
For more information on the World Congress or to register, call
248-594-9151, or visit our website at: http://www.autoworldcongress.com.
SOURCE Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.