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AIAG Names Hedeen As ANX(R) Director

1 June 1998

AIAG Names Hedeen As ANX(R) Director

    SOUTHFIELD, Mich., June 1 -- Donald G. Hedeen has joined the
Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) as Automotive Network eXchange(R)
(ANX(R)) Director, according to Richard T. Simmons, AIAG executive director on
loan from Ford Motor Co.
    Hedeen will be responsible for directing the ANX Project Office staff at
AIAG and for overseeing the launch, ongoing operation and future development
of the ANX network service, one of AIAG's most important initiatives.
    "Don is a welcomed addition to the AIAG," Simmons said.  "His extensive
background in information technology and program management will be beneficial
in providing the strategic direction and support needed to successfully roll-
out and develop the ANX service to its fullest potential."
    Hedeen has nearly 40 years of experience in program planning and
information technology with General Motors Corp.  Most recently, Hedeen served
as director, architecture and standards for GM Information Systems & Services,
where he successfully implemented a program to standardize desktops and the
local area network for 55,000 users in North America and launched the
extension of that standard to 130,000 users worldwide.
    Over the course of his career, he has held a variety of management
positions of increasing responsibility within GM -- including director,
desktop and network infrastructure; GM international group information
manager; and vice president of planning for GM Europe.
    Hedeen earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the
former General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in Flint, Mich.,
and completed advanced management studies in Geneva, Switzerland.
    Setting new standards for business communications over the Internet,
AIAG's ANX service is designed to use Internet technology to enable automotive
trading partners to communicate through a single, secure access point.  AIAG's
ANX service -- tentatively slated for a North American launch later this
summer -- is expected to save the auto industry millions of dollars annually
by improving communications, simplifying data network connections and
providing a foundation for future network and application growth.
    ANX is a TCP/IP (telecommunications protocol/Internet protocol) network
comprised of automotive trading partner subscribers, certified Internet
Service Providers and network exchange points allowing for efficient and
secure electronic communication among subscribers.
    Founded in 1982, AIAG is a not-for-profit trade association of more than
1,300 automotive and truck manufacturers and their suppliers.  Originally
recognized for its efforts to standardize electronic data interchange (EDI)
and bar code standards to assist Tier One suppliers, AIAG's mission has
expanded to cover all levels of the automotive supply chain as well as to
include numerous programs and initiatives aimed at improving its members'
productivity and quality.
    More information about AIAG and its ANX initiative can be found at
http://www.aiag.org.
    ANX(R) and Automotive Network eXchange(R) are registered U.S. service
marks of the AIAG.