Automotive Hall of Fame Announces 1999 Service Citation Honorees
28 October 1998
Automotive Hall of Fame Announces 1999 Distinguished Service Citation Honorees
DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 27 -- From design to driveway, a new
car or truck succeeds in the marketplace through the skills exemplified in the
careers of six automotive industry leaders named recipients of the Automotive
Hall of Fame's 1999 Distinguished Service Citation.
The recipients will be honored at the Automotive Hall of Fame & Popular
Mechanics Annual Awards Luncheon Sunday, February 7, 1999, at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel in San Francisco, during the Annual Convention of the National
Automobile Dealers Association.
Distinguished Service Citation honorees are: Maureen Kempston Darkes,
President, General Motors Canada, Vice President, General Motors Corporation;
Bobbie Gaunt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ford Motor Company of
Canada, Limited; Lawrence R. Gustin, Assistant Communications Director, Buick
Motor Division, General Motors Corporation; Robert A. Lutz, retired Vice
Chairman, Chrysler Corporation; Robert W. Moore, President, The Bob Moore
Financial Group; Larry L. Prince, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Genuine Parts Company,
Announced earlier, Southwood "Woody" Morcott, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Dana Corporation, will be honored at the same luncheon as the
Automotive Hall of Fame's 1998 Automotive Industry Leader of the Year.
The Distinguished Service Citation recognizes men and women who have made
significant contributions to the automotive industry through either sustained
superior performance or a specific important achievement.
Maureen Kempston Darkes, President of General Motors of Canada and General
Motors Vice President, holds the highest operating post ever achieved by a
woman at General Motors. She heads 11 assembly and component plants with
37,000 employees.
Darkes is a graduate of the University of Toronto where she received a
Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Political Science and a Bachelor of Law
Degree. Darkes has received the 1997 Professional Achievement Award from the
National Women's Automotive Association. In June 1997, she was selected to
receive "The Order of Ontario" for her significant contributions to the
economic well-being of the province.
Bobbie Gaunt was appointed President and Chief Executive Office of Ford
Motor Company of Canada, Limited, in April 1997. She is the first woman to
head Canada's longest-established automobile company since its incorporation
in 1904, and she was Ford's first woman management trainee.
Gaunt is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelors
Degree in Business Administration and later completed Stanford University's
Senior Executive Program. She was also a founding member in the Canadian
chapter of Women's Automotive Association International.
Lawrence R. Gustin created a body of historical work to include major
books on William Durant, Buick Motor Division, and his hometown of Flint,
Michigan. He also wrote a one-hour Buick history video, "The Legend of
Buick."
The career of Gustin spans 38 years, 23 years with The Flint Journal, and
15 years at Buick Motor Division as Manager of Internal Communications,
Manager of News Relations and now Assistant Director of Communications.
Gustin is also a member of the Sloan Museum's Advisory Committee and helped
create the museum's Buick Gallery and Research Center.
Robert A. Lutz was named Vice Chairman of Chrysler Corporation in 1996.
As a member of the Office of the Chairman, he was involved in all major
decisions and acted as coach and advisor. Prior to this position, Lutz was
President and Chief Operating Officer responsible for Chrysler's car and truck
operations worldwide, including International Operations. Prior to Chrysler,
Lutz spent 12 years at Ford Motor Company where he served as Executive Vice
President of Truck Operations and Chairman of Ford of Europe, as well as other
posts.
Lutz is a graduate of the University of California-Berkeley with a
Bachelor of Science Degree and a Masters Degree in Business Administration,
with highest honors. He now serves on the Advisory Board of the Walter A.
Haas School of Business at the same institution.
Robert W. Moore has built over 30 dealerships that include more than 20
domestic and foreign franchises. He began his career over 40 years ago in
Wichita, Kansas, selling and buying used cars, travelling throughout the
Midwest. At 19, he was the youngest supervisor on the payroll, supervising
over 50 employees. In 1956 he obtained his first car dealership -- Nash and
Oldsmobile.
He has been named a Cadillac Master Dealer for over 20 consecutive years
and has won several other honors from Cadillac including Cadillac's Platinum
Award for Outstanding Customer Satisfaction.
Larry L. Prince has spent 40 years in the automotive parts aftermarket.
After attending University of Memphis, Prince joined Genuine Parts Company as
a stockroom clerk, learning the automotive parts business from the ground up.
His first year as Chief Executive Officer in 1990, Genuine Parts Company had
sales of $3.3 billion, and Prince played an important part in increasing sales
each year since then, to a total of $6.0 billion last year.
Prince has played an important part in the development and growth of the
National Automotive Parts Association (NAPA) and still serves this
organization as a director. He also played a key role in the NAPA
Classification Program.