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Petrauskas to Retire as Ford Vice President Of Environmental and Safety Engineering

18 January 2001

Petrauskas to Retire as Ford Vice President Of Environmental and Safety Engineering

    DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 18 Ford Motor Company
today announced that Helen O. Petrauskas will retire later this year as vice
president - Environmental and Safety Engineering after a 30-year career at
Ford.
    Replacing Ms. Petrauskas will be Susan M. Cischke, who has been senior
vice president of Regulatory Affairs and Passenger Car Operations at
DaimlerChrysler Corp.
    "Helen Petrauskas has had a long and distinguished career at Ford, most of
it as a trail blazer in the formative years of environmental and safety
regulation.  We'll miss her and her leadership," said Jacques Nasser,
president and CEO of Ford Motor Company.
    "When Helen approached us early last year about leaving, we asked her to
stay until we could find the right replacement," Nasser said.  "We believe we
have found that person in Sue Cischke, who has an excellent engineering
background."
    As did Ms. Petrauskas, Ms. Cischke will report to John Rintamaki, chief of
staff at Ford.
    Ms. Petrauskas, 56, began her career at Ford in 1971 in the Office of the
General Counsel as a staff attorney on emissions and safety.  She held various
positions of increasing responsibility in the Office of General Counsel and
the Automotive Emissions and Fuel Economy Office.  In 1982, she was appointed
executive director, Environmental and Safety Engineering.  She was named to
her current position in 1983.
    Ms. Petrauskas received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a law
degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.  She is a member of the board
of directors of the Sherwin-Williams Co., MCN Energy Group Inc. and La-Z-Boy
Inc.
    Ms. Cischke, 46, began her career at Chrysler Corp. in 1976 as an engineer
with the Chrysler Institute Program.  She held various engineering positions
and in 1994 was named general manager of Scientific Labs and Proving Grounds.
In 1996, she was named vice president of Vehicle Certification, Compliance and
Safety Affairs.  She assumed her current position, as DaimlerChrysler's
highest-ranking female engineer, in 1999.
    Ms. Cischke received bachelor's and master's degrees in Mechanical
Engineering from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., and the University of
Michigan-Dearborn, respectively.  She has won many awards, including the
Engineering Society of Detroit's Horace A. Rackham Award for outstanding
humanitarian achievements, in 1997.  She was the first woman in the 102-year
history of the society to win the award.