2009 Automotive News World Congress to Address Most Complex Challenges in Industry’s History

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;

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