Tenneco Automotive Realigns North American Original Equipment Unit; Establishes Global Program Management
4 December 2000
Tenneco Automotive Realigns North American Original Equipment Unit; Establishes Global Program Management
Company Organizes North American Original Equipment Business Along Product
Lines
LAKE FOREST, Ill., Dec. 4 Tenneco Automotive
announced today that it is realigning its North American original equipment
business around its two major product areas; ride control and emission control
systems. The company also announced that it is consolidating its program
management resources to original equipment manufacturers under a single global
team.
As part of this reorganization, the company appointed John Kitts to the
new position of vice president and general manager, North American original
equipment emission control; Neal Yanos to the new position of vice president
and general manager, North American original equipment ride control; and Lois
Boyd to the new position of vice president, global original equipment program
management. The realignment and leadership changes are effective immediately.
"This product-focused structure pushes profit and loss, as well as EVA(R)
accountability, deeper into the organization, and should result in better
decision-making and improved cost management for our customers," said
Mark P. Frissora, chairman and CEO, Tenneco Automotive. "We implemented the
same structure in our European original equipment operations over a year ago
and it is helping to improve the business unit's performance."
"We continue to expand our global original equipment business with close
to $600 million of incremental business scheduled for production through 2005.
This new structure will allow us to provide a cohesive worldwide approach to
addressing our customers' increasingly global requirements, and lead to
enhanced technical focus and a more concentrated use of resources," said
Frissora.
Lois Boyd is promoted from the position of vice president, North American
original equipment Ford business unit. Boyd joined the company in 1997 from
Aeroquip/Vickers, where she served in the positions of global director of
market development, director of North American original equipment
distribution, and director of specification sales. Throughout her career, she
has been successful in delivering global projects to automotive original
equipment manufacturers as well as other industries. Boyd is a graduate of
Oakland University with a bachelor's degree in business, and she completed
postgraduate studies at Central Michigan University.
John Kitts is promoted from the position of vice president, North American
original equipment DaimlerChrysler business unit. Kitts joined Tenneco
Automotive's Walker exhaust division in 1987 and held positions in marketing,
product training, and sales and engineering management. Kitts was promoted to
business director of the North American original equipment General Motors
business unit in 1997. He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from
Carroll College, and is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Management
Program.
Neal Yanos is promoted from the position of director, North American
original equipment GM/VW business unit. Yanos joined Tenneco Automotive's
Monroe ride control division as a process engineer in 1988 and since that time
has served in a broad range of assignments including product engineering,
strategic planning, business development, finance, program management and
marketing. He has an extensive ride control background, and was instrumental
in acquisition and joint venture efforts resulting in the establishment of
expanded ride control operations in South America and the Asia Pacific region.
He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Purdue University and a
master's degree from the University of Toledo.
Lois Boyd, John Kitts, and Neal Yanos will report to Mark Frissora and
serve on his senior management team. The company anticipates completing the
realignment by the end of January 2001.
Tenneco Automotive is a $3.3 billion manufacturing company headquartered
in Lake Forest, Ill., with 24,000 employees worldwide. Tenneco Automotive is
one of the world's largest producers and marketers of ride control and exhaust
systems and products, which are sold under the Monroe(R) and Walker (R) global
brand names. Among its products are Sensa-Trac(R) and Reflex(TM) shocks and
struts, Rancho(R) shock absorbers, Walker(R) Quiet-Flow(TM) mufflers and
DynoMax(TM) performance exhaust products, and Monroe(R) Clevite(TM) vibration
control components.
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning how the
realignment of the company's organizational structure for its North American
OE business unit could impact cost management for the company's customers and
improve the business unit's performance. Because forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties, the company's plans, actions and actual
results could differ materially. Among the factors that could cause these
plans, actions and results to differ materially from current expectations are:
(i) the general political, economic and competitive conditions in markets and
countries where the company and its subsidiaries operate, including currency
fluctuations and other risks associated with operating in foreign countries;
(ii) governmental actions, including the ability to receive regulatory
approvals and the timing of such approvals; (iii) changes in capital
availability or costs, including increases in the company's costs of borrowing
(i.e. interest rate increases); (iv) changes in automotive manufacturers'
production rates and their actual and forecasted requirements for the
company's products, including the company's resultant inability to realize the
sales represented by its awarded book of business; (v) changes in consumer
demand and prices, including decreases in demand for automobiles which include
the company's products, and the potential negative impact on the company's
revenues and margins from such products; (vi) the cost of compliance with
changes in regulations, including environmental regulations; (vii) workforce
factors such as strikes or labor interruptions; (viii) material substitutions
and increases in the costs of raw materials; (ix) the company's ability to
integrate operations of acquired businesses quickly and in a cost effective
manner; (x) the company's ability to execute restructuring and other cost
reduction plans and to realize anticipated benefits from these plans; (xi) the
company's ability to develop and profitably commercialize new products and
technologies, and the acceptance of such new products and technologies by the
company's customers; (xii) further changes in the distribution channels for
the company's aftermarket products, and further consolidations among
automotive parts customers and suppliers; (xiii) changes by the Financing
Accounting Standards Board or other accounting regulatory bodies of
authoritative generally accepted accounting principles or policies; (xiv) the
timing and occurrence (or non-occurrence) of transactions and events which may
be subject to circumstances beyond the control of the company and its
subsidiaries.