Ford Motor Co. Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm are expected to headline a strong roster of speakers for the upcoming Convergence 2004 automotive electronics conference October 18-20.
The every-other-year conference, which in the past 30 years has grown to become one of the auto industry's most important technical events, will have special significance this year. It's being held in Detroit only a few weeks before the U.S. presidential election, in a political environment where manufacturing, technology and “offshoring” are major issues — especially in Michigan.
Michigan also is a crucial battleground state where both candidates are campaigning heavily to win voter support.
In addition to luminaries from industry and government such as Ford and Granholm, program organizers also have secured at least five other keynote speakers from auto makers and suppliers to balance out the program, including:
- Franz Fehrenbach, chief executive officer of Robert Bosch GmbH, a worldwide supplier of high-technology automotive products, industrial equipment and consumer and building technologies.
- Carl-Peter Forster, the new president of the recently reorganized General Motors of Europe and CEO of GM's Adam Opel AG unit.
- Nicholas Donofrio, IBM senior vice president-Technology and Manufacturing. Donofrio leads IBM's strategy for developing and commercializing advanced technology across the company's global operations.
- Mitsuo (Matt) Matsushita, president and CEO of Denso International America Inc., a global supplier of automotive components and electronics.
- Robert Peugeot, executive vice president-PSA Peugeot Citroen.
“We are bringing together keynote speakers with expertise, leadership and a tradition of innovation in their companies and respective industries,” says Convergence 2004 Chairman Gerhard Schmidt, Ford vice president-Research and Advance Technology.
The conference will focus this year on the automotive industry's need to connect vehicle electronics into a single system that increases comfort, boosts efficiency and safely accommodates mobile consumer electronics.
Convergence will be held at Cobo Center in Detroit and is sponsored by the Convergence Transportation Electronics Assn. Proceeds benefit the Convergence Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 to support education in mathematics and science among school-aged children. For further information and registration, go to www.convergence2004.org.
