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Donnelly Hires Sathe as Vice President of Corporate Quality

31 October 2000

Donnelly Hires Sathe as Vice President of Corporate Quality

    HOLLAND, Mich., Oct. 31 Donnelly Corporation
has hired Prakash T. Sathe as vice president of corporate quality, the company
announced today.  Sathe comes to Donnelly with over 30 years of experience in
automotive quality, manufacturing, marketing and engineering.
    In this position, Sathe will have global responsibility for all of
Donnelly's quality functions.  Sathe's primary goal will be to achieve the
highest possible level of customer satisfaction and to earn preferred supplier
status from Donnelly's customers.  Specifically, he is charged with developing
and implementing a state-of-the-art warranty management system, reducing
quality costs, managing the corporate quality and customer satisfaction
department and continuously improving the quality systems at each of
Donnelly's worldwide locations.
    Sathe will report to Donn J. Viola, chief operating officer of Donnelly's
North American Operations, and to John Donnelly, chief operating officer of
Donnelly's European Operations.
    "Prakash is one of the industry's leading authorities on quality, warranty
and customer service," Viola said.  "He has developed quality systems from
concept to completion, and he has proven his ability to reach the goals set
before him while always keeping the customers' and the end-consumers' needs
foremost in his mind.  I have known Prakash for many years, and I am proud to
have him join our team."
    Before joining Donnelly, Sathe worked as director of quality systems for
TRW.  Prior to TRW, Sathe worked as the manager of the quality information
department for Volkswagen of America and held several management positions at
DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
    A native of Bombay, India, Sathe has a Ph.D. and a master's degree in
industrial and operations engineering, both from the University of Michigan; a
master's degree in business administration from Michigan State University; and
a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Bombay in
India.
    In 1995, Sathe received the Society of Automotive Engineers Forest R.
McFarland award for service, and in 1998 he was recognized as a TRW automotive
engineering and manufacturing fellow.  He is a member of several honor and
professional organizations, including Phi Kappa Phi, the American Society of
Quality Control and Society of Automotive Engineers.
    Through its electronics and vision products, Donnelly is a technology-
driven, customer-focused supplier to every major automotive manufacturer in
the world.  The company has been based in Holland, Michigan, since 1905, and
today has approximately 6,100 employees in 12 countries worldwide.  Donnelly
has been named by the Society of Automotive Engineers as a model company in
lean manufacturing practices, and was recognized by Automotive Industries
magazine as one of the best of the best suppliers of interiors and electronic
systems.  In addition, Donnelly is nationally recognized as a leader in the
application of participative management principles and systems.