Delphi Automotive Systems Nominates Board of Directors
20 November 1998
Delphi Automotive Systems Nominates Board of Directors DELPHI OPIE John D. Opie, Director Nominee, Delphi Automotive Systems, Age: 61. (PR NewsFoto) TROY, MI USA 11/17/1998
TROY, Mich., Nov. 17 -- Several director nominees for the
board of directors for Delphi Automotive Systems were announced today by
Delphi chairman, CEO and president J.T. Battenberg III and Lead Director
Thomas S. Wyman. Nominated to join Battenberg and Wyman as outside directors
on the board are:
Oscar P. Bernardes Neto of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Mr. Bernardes, 52, is chief
executive officer of Bunge International, a Bermuda holding company. He has
held the position since 1996. Bunge controls a number of food, agribusiness
and fertilizer companies around the world. Prior to joining Bunge, he was a
senior partner at Booz-Allen & Hamilton. His 15 years of consulting
experience there included several projects related to the automotive industry
in South America. Mr. Bernardes is also a director for RBS and Alcoa in
Brazil and is a member of the advisory board of Booz-Allen.
Virgis W. Colbert of Milwaukee, Wis., USA. In 1997, Mr. Colbert, 58, was
appointed executive vice president for Miller Brewing Company. He is a member
of the company's board of directors and executive committee and he is
responsible for plant operations, brewing, research, quality assurance,
engineering, purchasing, corporate operations planning and improvement, and
information systems. In addition, Mr. Colbert is a director for Aeroquip-
Vickers, Inc. and Columbia Health Systems.
Shoichiro Irimajiri of Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Irimajiri, 59, is president of
Sega Enterprises, Ltd., a position he has held since February 1998. Sega is a
$3 billion company recognized as the industry leader in interactive digital
entertainment media. Mr. Irimajiri has been responsible for the CS Business
Group, Quality Assurance Division, Intellectual Property Rights Department and
was co-chairman of Sega of America, Inc. Prior to joining Sega, he had been
an executive vice president at Honda Motor Co., Ltd., responsible for
directing the company's development and production activities.
John D. Opie, Fairfield, Conn., USA. Mr. Opie, 61, has been a vice
chairman of General Electric, a diversified technology, manufacturing and
services company, since 1995. He had been president and chief executive
officer of GE Lighting and a GE senior vice president since 1986. Mr. Opie
has held positions of increasing responsibility with GE since 1961. He was
appointed general manager of GE's mining business in 1974 and became general
manager of the Battery Business in 1975. He was named general manager in 1977
and then vice president in 1980 of the Lexan Products Division of GE Plastics.
In 1982, he became president of the Specialty Plastics Division and the
following year he became president of GE's Distribution Equipment Business.
Elected a senior vice president in 1986, he served as President and CEO of GE
Lighting from 1986 to 1995.
Roger S. Penske of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., USA. Mr. Penske is the
founder and chairman of Penske Corporation, a $6 billion diversified
transportation services company. Mr. Penske, 61, is an internationally-known
corporate leader who oversees a broad network of companies and enterprises.
He serves as chairman of Detroit Diesel Corporation; chairman of Diesel
Technology Company, a partnership with Robert Bosch Corporation, Grand Rapids,
Mich.; chairman of Penske Truck Leasing Corporations; and leads the Penske
Automotive Group, Penske Motorsports and Penske Racing, an automotive racing
organization which has fielded the most successful Indy car team in history.
Thomas H. Wyman of Jackson, Wyo., USA, was previously named as the lead
director for the Delphi board. Mr. Wyman, 68, resigned from the GM board of
directors in October 1998. Mr. Wyman was chairman and chief executive officer
of CBS and he served on the board of GM's subsidiary, Hughes Electronics. Mr.
Wyman is also a director at AT&T.
Additionally the Delphi board will include three General Motors
representative directors. They are: John F. Smith, Jr., GM chairman and
chief executive officer; Harry J. Pearce, GM vice chairman; J. Michael Losh,
GM executive vice president and chief financial officer. The GM executives
who will serve on the Delphi board expect to resign after full separation of
Delphi Automotive Systems from General Motors later in 1999.
"Each member of the Delphi board has a demonstrated track record in
managing successful global companies," said Battenberg. "We wanted to be sure
that the board of directors overseeing Delphi's future strategy would bring a
wide-ranging view of technology, successful management strategies, sensitivity
to labor issues and a keen sense of the pressures of world competition."
"I believe our employees, our customers, and our other constituents will
be very pleased with the depth and breadth of talent responsible for directing
our future," said Battenberg.
"The management team at Delphi is looking forward to working with this new
leadership group. I am personally grateful for their willingness to share
their expertise with us as Delphi becomes an independent company," Battenberg
said.
Delphi Automotive Systems, with headquarters in Troy, Mich., USA, is the
world's most diversified supplier of automotive components and systems.
Delphi operates 171 wholly owned manufacturing sites, some 40 joint ventures
and 27 technical centers in 37 countries. Regional headquarters are located
in Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo. Delphi can be found on the Internet at
http://www.delphiauto.com.