• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Johnson Controls-Saft: A new Management Team to Reinforce Market Leadership

Posted on: Thursday, 1 October 2009, 12:20 CDT

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, October 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alex Molinaroli, president Johnson Controls Power Solutions and John Searle, president and CEO of Saft, announce leadership changes within their companies' joint venture Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions, reflecting the increased investment and commitment they are making to build and maintain its leadership role within the hybrid and electric vehicle battery industry. The following changes are effective immediately.

MaryAnn Wright has been appointed to a new position as vice president and managing director for Johnson Controls-Saft as the leader of its Business Accelerator program reporting directly to the board. MaryAnn has been serving as the CEO for Johnson Controls-Saft. She has played a key role in establishing Johnson Controls-Saft as a leading independent global provider of hybrid battery systems for key customers such as Daimler, BMW, Ford and Azure Dynamics. Her team was also responsible for securing the single largest U.S. Department of Energy grant of $299 million to support development of a U.S. domestic advanced battery industry. In this new role, MaryAnn will lead the initiative that will oversee this significant program implementation to ensure its objectives are successfully achieved.

Ray Shemanski will replace MaryAnn as the CEO for Johnson Controls-Saft. A key focus will include leveraging Johnson Controls worldwide commercial OE organization to increase Johnson Controls-Saft's business development capabilities. Since joining Johnson Controls in the Automotive Experience business in 1988, Ray held several positions of increasing responsibility spanning plant management, program management, sales management, and ultimately general management of the company's global customer business unit for Ford. In January 2009 he joined Power Solutions as vice president and general manager Global OEM-OES. In his new role, Ray will lead the daily operation of Johnson Controls-Saft to ensure the continued success and profitable growth of the business.

Johnson Controls-Saft is a joint venture that has brought together Johnson Controls -- the world's leading supplier of automotive batteries and a company deeply experienced in integrated automotive systems solutions - with Saft, an advanced energy storage solutions provider with extensive Li-ion battery expertise.

About Saft

Saft (Euronext: Saft) is a world specialist in the design and manufacture of high-tech batteries for industry. Saft batteries are used in high performance applications, such as industrial infrastructure and processes, transportation, space and defence. Saft is the world's leading manufacturer of nickel-cadmium batteries for industrial applications and of primary lithium batteries for a wide range of end markets. The group is also the European leader for specialised advanced technologies for the defence and space industries. With approximately 4,000 employees worldwide, Saft is present in 18 countries. Its 15 manufacturing sites and extensive sales network enable the group to serve its customers worldwide. Saft is listed in the SBF 120 index on the Paris Stock Market.

For more information, visit Saft at http://www.saftbatteries.com

About Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) is the global leader that brings ingenuity to the places where people live, work and travel. By integrating technologies, products and services, we create smart environments that redefine the relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of 140,000 employees creates a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services for more than 200 million vehicles, 12 million homes and one million commercial buildings. Our commitment to sustainability drives our environmental stewardship, good corporate citizenship in our workplaces and communities, and the products and services we provide to customers. For additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/.

SOURCE Saft

Source: PR Newswire

More News in this Category