National Press Release

DETROIT, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders from the Detroit Three, along with UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and dozens of top automotive industry executives, will address Global Strategies for Challenging Times at the 2009 Automotive News World Congress, Monday - Thursday, Jan. 19 - 22 at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Mich.

Joining Gettelfinger as keynote dinner speakers will be Frederick (Fritz) Henderson, President and Chief Operating Officer, General Motors Corporation; Ralph Gilles, Vice President - Design, Chrysler LLC and Linda Hasenfratz, CEO, Linamar Corporation.

The Automotive News World Congress opens at 3 p.m. Monday with a special session, Growing in a Changing Global Market. The session will highlight the consolidation and compression occurring in the global automotive landscape and methods companies have used to successfully expand and ensure performance of their retail network. The discussion will cover key strategies, lessons learned and results realized.

A 5:30 p.m. networking reception will follow Monday's opening session. The conference will be in full swing Tuesday and Wednesday with morning into evening individual presentations, panel discussions and keynote speakers from 9 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. An 8:30 a.m. Thursday tour of the North American International Auto Show caps the conference.

Among the executives slated to speak to the more than 800 expected attendees are:

    -- Dr. Andrew Brown Jr., P.E., NAE, Executive Director & Chief
       Technologist, Innovation & Technology, Delphi Corporation

    -- Heidi Browning, Senior Vice President, Insight & Planning, MySpace

    -- Marcus Chao, President, Lean Enterprise China

    -- Donald V. Esmond, Senior Vice President, Automotive Operations, Toyota
       Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

    -- Jim Farley, Group Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Ford
       Motor Company

    -- Earl J. Hesterberg, President and CEO, Group 1 Automotive Inc.

    -- Mike Jackson, Chairman and CEO, AutoNation

    -- Frank O. Klegon, Executive Vice President - Product Development,
       Chrysler LLC

    -- John Krafcik, Vice President, Product Development and Strategic
       Planning, Hyundai Motor America

    -- Harold Krivan, President, Sawgrass Solutions LLC

    -- Jonathan J. Lauckner, GM Vice President, Global Program Management,
       General Motors Corporation

    -- Betsy Lazar, Executive Director, Advertising & Media Operations,
       General Motors Corporation

    -- Tim Leuliette, President & CEO, Dura Automotive Systems, Inc.

    -- Kathleen Ligocki, CEO, GS Motors

    -- Philip R. Martens, Senior Vice President and President, Light Vehicle
       Systems, ArvinMeritor

    -- Paul Mascarenas, Vice President, Engineering, Global Product
       Development, Ford Motor Company

    -- James O'Sullivan, President and CEO, Mazda North America Operations

    -- Edward J. Peper, Jr., North America Vice President, Chevrolet, General
       Motors Corporation

    -- J. E. "Ted" Robertson, P. Eng., Chief Technical Officer & EVP of New
       Product Creation, Magna International Inc.

    -- Barb Samardzich, Vice President - Global Powertrain Engineering, Ford
       Motor Company

    -- Bonita Coleman Stewart, Industry Director, Automotive, Google

    -- Arupa Tesolin, Speaker, Trainer & Innovation Coach, Intuita

    -- Susan C. Thomson, Director - Media, Chrysler LLC

Topics for the afternoon panel programs on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 20 and 21 are:

-- New Media and Marketing: A finicky generation of consumers is demanding a new breed of vehicles and new, more personalized ways to be approached and convinced about the value of products. Panelists will reveal how today's realities are affecting their business models -- and what they're doing about it.

-- The Role of Innovation in Industry Sustainability: As automakers seek to shape collaborative relationships with their suppliers, innovation remains one of the surest ways to add value for the suppliers, the OEMs and customers. Executives of companies with success stories to share will discuss how to make innovation work.

-- Global Product Development for the North American Market: The topsy-turvy auto market has proven again that product is still king. Automakers with the right products in a volatile market rule while those with the wrong portfolio suffer. Experts in product development will disclose what the current turmoil has meant to their companies and how they are capitalizing on it.

Recipients of the Polk Loyalty Awards will be announced during Tuesday evening's Automotive News World Congress dinner program. Wednesday's dinner program will highlight the Automotive News/PricewaterhouseCoopers Shareholder Value Awards.

The early-bird registration fee for all four days of the Automotive News World Congress is $1,495 through Dec. 8. The registration fee is $1,695 beginning Dec. 9 and the daily rate is $850. Dinner-only tickets for the Tuesday and Wednesday evening programs are $195 per person or $1,850 for a table of ten. A full agenda, speaker background and online registration are available at www.autonews.com/worldcongress . For questions, e-mail congress@autonews.com or call 313-446-0485

The 2009 Automotive News World Congress is sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM. Additional conference sponsors are Acxiom, BBK, BorgWarner, Dykema, i2, JATO, State of Kentucky, Microsoft, the North American International Auto Show, Raytheon Professional Services LLC, R.L. Polk & Company Springbok Services and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Automotive News, a trusted name in the industry for more than 80 years, is a critical source of news, data, analysis and information for the North American auto industry. The weekly publication provides in-depth coverage of the auto industry and is written for automakers, dealers and suppliers. This unsurpassed industry coverage is fully supported by a comprehensive website, e-mail newsletters and breaking news alerts that provide readers with the latest information. Visit www.autonews.com .

SOURCE Automotive News