Management Briefing Seminars Aug. 2-6

EDITORS: Media interested in attending the seminars or obtaining complete agendas should contact Bernie DeGroat at the number at the end of this release or the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation, (734) 764-5592, or consult the OSAT Web page at www.osat.umich.edu.

ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan will hold its annual Management Briefing Seminars on the auto industry Aug. 2-6 at the Grand Traverse Resort near Traverse City, Mich.

The largest of this year’s nine seminars, hosted by U-M researcher and auto industry expert David E. Cole, will focus on “Driving to Excellence in the 21st Century: People, Product & Process.” Other seminars will address issues in manufacturing, information technology, modular assembly and product development.

“The industry is poised to enter the next century charged with talent, energy and confidence,” says Cole, director of the U-M Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT). “However, the future for the automotive industry is extremely complex and challenges abound—from increasing cost pressures, rapidly advancing new technologies and the uncertainties of globalization, to the unpredictable impact of future policy, continuing industry restructuring and growing human-resource concerns. And, of course, customers are evermore demanding.”

This year’s seminars, expected to draw more than 1,400 business and industry leaders, will include two new events. The Aug. 4 program will be available via a live Webcast, featuring executives Hiroyuki Yoshino of Honda Motor Corp., Pete Pestillo of Ford Motor Co., Gary Valade of DaimlerChrysler Corp., Tom Davis of General Motors Corp. and Lew Platt of Hewlett-Packard Co. In addition, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors and Toyota Motor Corp. will host a dinner for all participants Aug. 5 to celebrate the new millenium.

The seminars are sponsored by OSAT, a division of the U-M Transportation Research Institute, and the Center for Professional Development at the U-M College of Engineering.

Web: http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/

www.osat.umich.eduDavid E. ColeOffice for the Study of Automotive TransportationTransportation Research Institutehttp://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/U-M News and Information ServicesUniversity of Michigan