Automotive Logistics Global

Joe Hinrichs, 42, is group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs, Ford Motor Company. He is responsible for the operations of 105 assembly, stamping and powertrain plants worldwide. He oversees the company's worldwide engineering support for the stamping function as well as vehicle and powertrain manufacturing. He has global responsibility for the company's Material Planning & Logistics, Ford Production System, Manufacturing Business Office and Labor Affairs organizations. Additionally, Hinrichs is responsible for Automotive Components Holdings, the Ford-managed temporary business entity comprised of former Visteon Corp. plants and facilities in the United States and Mexico. He assumed the worldwide position on Jan. 1, 2008. Hinrichs reports to Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer.

Peter Weiss is responsible for inbound and outbound logistics systems worldwide, including operations of DaimlerChrysler Transport, Inc. Additionally, he has responsibility for international customs operations for the Chrysler Group.
He joined DaimlerChrysler as a supply chain planner in 1990 and has held a series of increasingly responsible positions with the Chrysler Group and joint venture partners.

Dana McBrien has been with Honda of America Manufacturing since 1984 and has held positions in supply chain management for the past 22 years. His current duties include management of Honda's North American transport initiatives to optimise supply chain operations.

Dennis Manns' responsibilities include Sales Planning for both the Honda and Acura Divisions and Logistics Planning and Operations for all Honda and Acura North American and port facilities. In 2006, Dennis was promoted into his current position, however his prior positions included Acura National Sales, Honda Marketing and Dealer Relations and Communications. Dennis joined Honda in 1984. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Dayton.

Denny Lewis began his career with Toyota in 1992 in the materials handling manufacturing division of Toyota (Toyota Industrial Equipment, Mfg.). After eight years with the industrial equipment division, he transferred his Toyota Production Systems knowledge to the automotive division of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana.
In 2003, Lewis expanded his TPS exposure into production control management specifically logistics and packaging.

Frederiek Toney was elected vice president, Ford Customer Service Division in September 2009. He reports to Ken Czubay, vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. Toney, 53, joined Ford in 2000. Most recently he served as Executive Director, Global Material Planning and Logistics, Ford's highest-ranking logistics executive.
Prior to joining Ford, Toney spent 16 years with Caterpillar, Inc. in a variety of managerial assignments. He then served for seven years at American Honda Motor Company, rising to the position of Assistant Vice President, Procurement/Distribution. Toney received a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Alabama in Huntsville and earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of La Verne in La Verne, California.

Mike Steck is responsible for Supply Chain Management for Nissan in the Americas. Mike joined Nissan in 1989 as an industrial engineer, before joining the management team in 1995 in Quality Control. He was then a manager in Body Assembly Manufacturing and Production Control before becoming the director of Supply Chain Management in 2002. In 2005, he moved into Human Resources, before returning to Supply Chain Management in 2009 as vice president.

MM Singh pioneered the Maruti Production System, and spearheaded the Challenge 50 programme which has resulted in productivity and quality improvements of 50 per cent, and a cost reduction of 30 per cent. Singh has developed a Production Management System (PMS) for the carmaker, which focuses on the involvement, and empowerment of human capital. His other projects include new plant locations, logistics optimisation, port development and the service/distribution network. He is also the chairman of the SIAM Logistics Committee.

Rick DeMuro has been with Ford Motor Company for 32 years, after starting at the Cleveland Engine Plant in 1977. He has been part of many significant achievements at Ford, including the development and implantation of a Direct Data Link with the suppliers in 1988; the development and implementation of Supplier Capacity Planning in 2001. In the last 4 years, he has taken on the opportunity and the challenges of the growing Asia-Pacific markets as the Material Planning and Logistics Director for Ford.

Susanna Webber was appointed Executive Director, General Motors Global Logistics, effective June 1, 2008. A 12-year GM veteran, Susanna received a bachelor's degree in business management from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and a master's degree in international management from Thunderbird, School of Global Management, in Glendale, Arizona.

Todd Pronger's career with Robert Bosch started in 1997 as a planner. His current responsibilites include the on-time delivery, inbound logistics, and inventory management for the company's chassis division in North America. He is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), and was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award in 2003 and 2004 from the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG)

Vicki Streukens was named Director, Vehicle Logistics for GM North America in November 2006. Vicki joined GM in 1984 as a GMI Engineering and Management Institute (GMI) student. Vicki has held a variety of assignments at GM Service Parts Operations. In 2005, she became Director of Strategic Planning at GM Global Supply Chain, then Director, Intercontinental Logistics. Vicki earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering in 1987 and a Master's degree in Manufacturing Management in 1991. Vicki has her certification in inventory management from APICS.

Barry has been in the automotive industry for more than three decades and with Porsche for 23 years. His career has involved sales, service and parts for Porsche. He currently operates five North American ports for Porsche from its US headquarters in Atlanta, GA; this includes managing Porsche's port processing, inbound and outbound vehicle logistics operations.

Michael Silvio is Director of Supply Chain Management for Cooper Standard Automotive, a leading manufacturer of fluid systems, sealing systems and NVH components for the automotive industry. Michael is also an adjunct faculty member at Wayne State University and former president of the Eastern Michigan Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)

Camille Chism, CPP has engineering and sales experience in food, automotive, distribution, and technology. A lifetime CPP with a BS in Packaging from Michigan State University, she is in the process of completing thesis work for her Masters Degree in packaging science, with a 4.0 GPA. Currently MI IoPP Chapter Secretary, her accomplishments include a patent for the design of an injection molded dispenser and guest lecturer at the University of Nebraska

David E. Cole is the Chairman of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). He was formerly Director of the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT) at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Dr. Cole's technical and policy consulting experience includes a variety of assignments, and he has spoken to more than 1000 different groups on automotive issues. Dr. Cole received his B.S.M.E. and Mathematics, M.S.M.E. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Mr. Akimov graduated from Kaluga State Teachers Training University (speciality history and socio-political disciplines), before starting his career as a history, geography and English teacher in Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga. Between 1993 and 1996, he worked in public-regional and private organizations. Since 1996, he has been working in management positions within the government. He has been Vice Governor of Kaluga region since July 2007.

Christopher Connor has over 26 years experience in the maritime and logistics sector, working at senior levels in operations, commercial development, and marketing and sales. In his current role as President, Region Americas, he oversees all of the company's ocean services, terminal handling, inland distribution, technical services and supply chain management in North, South and Central America. He was previously the company's COO and Head of Ocean Services. He is a graduate of Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

Jeff Schuster is Executive Director of Global Forecasting and Product Analysis at J.D. Power and Associates. He is responsible for the entire automotive intelligence and global forecasting operation. Prior to joining the company in 1996, Mr. Schuster was a treasury analyst for Lear Corporation. Mr. Schuster holds both a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in corporate finance from Walsh College.

John J. Diez is Senior Vice President, Global Field Finance, Ryder. In this position, he has responsibility for the field finance activities supporting Ryder's global businesses. He joined Ryder in 2002 and was named an officer in 2007. Prior to joining Ryder, John spent 8 years in the audit practice of KPMG. He received both his B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from Florida International University.

Mr. Thomas is currently responsible for defining and managing i2's portfolio of products. Prior to this role, Mr. Thomas was the senior vice president for i2's Manufacturing Industries Sector. Prior to joining i2 in 1995, Mr. Thomas worked at EDS for 10 years. He is a former board member of the Supply Chain Council and received a degree in chemical engineering from Rutgers University.

Stephen R. Tanner is a 10-year veteran with FedEx Services and currently holds the position of Managing Director FedEx Worldwide Services. Stephen received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business with emphasis in Marketing and Finance from California Polytechnic University in Pomona and Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University in Washington DC.

Gustavo began his career as a mechanical engineer at UTN, Buenos Aires), before joining FIAT - PEUGEOT Argentina as a production parts buyer in 1973. In 1983, he joined Exxonmobil South America as Retail Network Sales & Marketing Manager and then Fuels Terminals Manager. In 1993, he joined Perez Companc Oil Company Latin America as Engineering Manager. He then moved to his current role as Regional Sales Manager - USA for SOLNET USA in 2003.

Beth Whited is President of Union Pacific Distribution Services (UPDS), a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad. She joined Union Pacific in 1987 and has served in a variety of executive roles in strategic planning, marketing and finance. Beth graduated from the University of Iowa in 1987, where she acquired her Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Jorges Salas is responsible for management of all Tier One automotive customers in North America and automotive operations in Mexico for Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Chrysler as well as all Mexico –US cross border operations.
His operations manage more than 800 million USD logistics for Tier One customers with more than 40 engineers managing the network and its improvements.

Marc is a principal partner with AutoDiversity Management inc. (ADMi). ADMi provides strategic supply chain consulting and research services to the automotive and petrochemical industries. Prior to founding ADMi, Marc held senior positions in the global supply chain industry with roles in companies such as Chrysler and Canadian Pacific Railway.

Anshum Jain leads a Continuous Improvement team at MTU Detroit Diesel. He has worked in manufacturing industry for over 12 years. He has a Masters degree in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering and a Masters degree in Business Administration. During his professional career he has led several large-scale improvement projects. He is a Certified Theory of Constraints Jonah, Certified Six Sigma Green Belt and Certified Lean Professional. He has helped organizations improve their operational performance by the application of lean manufacturing and lean logistics methods.

With his Naval background, Svein Steimler started his shipping career in 1975. He has since held senior positions in various shipping companies in Europe and has been involved with most aspects of the shipping industry. In 1996 he was appointed Executive Vice President of NYK Group Europe Ltd with main responsibility for building NYK's RORO business in Europe.
Mr. Steimler is currently a Board member and the Executive Vice President for NYK Group Europe Ltd (NGE), which is NYK's European head quarters with its offices located in London. NGE is responsible for RORO, Liner and Logistics operations in Europe.

Greg May has 14 years of experience in the automobile transport industry as chief executive and CFO.
He is also Chairman of the Automobile Carriers Conference (American Trucking Association) and a
member of the Executive Committee of the National Auto Transporters Labour Division.

James W. Lawrence is the Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of Hybrid Intermodal Transportation (HIT). James grew up in Central Florida and has worked in the automotive transportation industry since age twelve with his family's trucking business. Right out of school, James became a professional motorcycle road racer competing in the AMA Camel Pro Series in Formula One, Formula Two, Superbike and Battle of the Twins. In addition, James is a veteran of the US Air Force Reserve and served both active and reserve duty including service during Desert Storm. While in the military he went to the College of the Air Force majoring in Avionic Technology. James is also an inventor and holds several US and International patents in intermodal technology. He has been involved with nearly every aspect of vehicle delivery to include roll on/ roll off ports, auto rail ramps and plant operations. When not at work, James enjoys flying, sailing and riding motorcycles with friends and family.