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Dennis K. Pawley Joins Guide Corporation as Chairman and CEO

10 January 2000

Dennis K. Pawley Joins Guide Corporation as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

                Will Lead Company In Its Next Stage of Growth

    ANDERSON, Ind., Jan. 10 -- Guide Corporation, the largest
North American provider of headlamps and signal lights to the automotive
industry, announced today that Dennis K. Pawley, former Executive Vice
President of Manufacturing and Corporate Labor Relations for DaimlerChrysler
in North America, has joined the company as Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer.  Guide supplies lighting products to General Motors and other
automotive customers including Toyota and Isuzu.  Mr. Pawley succeeds
Michael N. Hammes who has accepted a position elsewhere.
    At Chrysler, Mr. Pawley, 58, was responsible for 80,000 employees, 12 car
and truck assembly plants, five manufacturing technical centers as well as
18 component, stamping and power train plants throughout the U.S. and Canada.
He is credited for developing the flexible, teamwork-based operating system
essential to Chrysler's dramatic turnaround which occurred prior to the
company's 1998 merger with Daimler-Benz AG.  Mr. Pawley retired from
DaimlerChrysler in early 1999.
    In February 1999, Mr. Pawley became affiliated with Palladium Equity
Partners, LLC, a leading private equity firm, as one of their operating
executives, advising Palladium and its partners on a variety of existing and
potential investments.  Palladium, through its affiliates, holds a significant
ownership position in Guide.
    Marcos A. Rodriguez, Managing Partner of Palladium Equity Partners, said,
"We are extremely pleased that Denny Pawley, one of the most experienced and
respected manufacturing experts in the automotive industry, has accepted the
leadership of Guide Corporation.  Denny is a legend in the auto industry and
we can think of no one better qualified to build on the enormous progress
Guide has made over the past year and to lead it through its next stage of
growth."
    Mr. Pawley said, "I am very excited to have the opportunity to build on
the momentum taking place at Guide, a company in which I have great
confidence."
    Mr. Pawley added, "Guide has excellent competitive positioning.  My
initial goals will be to: enhance the existing strategic relationship Guide
has with General Motors and other important customers throughout the world;
strengthen relations with our union members; expand our customer base,
worldwide; grow profitability and; build upon the engineering, manufacturing
and technology base that so clearly distinguishes Guide and its products in
the marketplace."
    In addition to his affiliation with Palladium, Mr. Pawley is a partner in
Performance Learning, Inc., a corporate development firm that specializes in
enhancing business operating systems.  He also heads Pawley Enterprises,
L.L.C., an independent management consulting firm.
    Prior to DaimlerChrysler, Mr. Pawley held senior management positions at
United Technologies, Mazda Motor Corp., and spent 20 years in manufacturing
management at General Motors.
    Mr. Rodriguez said, "We're very confident that this change in leadership
will be smooth and seamless.  On behalf of everyone at Guide, we want to wish
Mike Hammes all the best as he takes on a new and exciting challenge.  We are
grateful for all he has contributed in helping to establish Guide as one of
the world's premier independent designers and manufacturers of automotive
lighting systems.
    "We want to thank him for leading Guide in its successful transition from
being a division of GM to being today an independent tier one corporation.
Under his stewardship, the company assembled an experienced management team,
improved its quality and delivery of products, revitalized its engineering
capabilities, improved manufacturing efficiency, and created effective
relationships with Guide's work force, both salaried and hourly, its
customers, suppliers, UAW leadership and communities.
    "Today, Guide is well positioned to be a world class automotive lighting
company, thanks to Mike's vision and leadership," Mr. Rodriguez concluded.
    Guide Corporation, based in Anderson, Indiana, is the leading automotive
lighting company in North America.  Its manufacturing facilities are located
in Anderson, Indiana, Monroe, Louisiana and Mexico.  The company has
3,200 employees worldwide and recorded 1999 sales of approximately
$600 million.