MONTREUX, Switzerland - The 2000 Automotive News Europe Congress here on June 19 and 20 is shaping up as the most significant car industry conference of the year.
The chief executives of General Motors, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and Ford's Premier Automotive Group will head a long list of high-ranking speakers at the Congress, which is co-sponsored by AT Kearney, the management consultant.
This year's event at the Montreux Palace Hotel offers a rare opportunity to hear from the highest levels of the auto business and to meet with important colleagues from throughout the global industry.
Rick Wagoner, who becomes GM's CEO on June 1, is one of three gala dinner speakers on the evening of Monday, June 19. He will be joined by Jean-Martin Folz, CEO of PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, and Premier Chairman Wolfgang Reitzle, who is responsible for Volvo, Jaguar, Lincoln, Aston Martin and soon Land Rover.
The three keynoters occupy crucial places in today's auto business.
Wagoner will take over the largest carmaker in the world - which has an expanded presence in Europe after buying a 20 percent stake in Fiat Auto.
Folz runs the world's largest maker still not swept up in the consolidation frenzy. Former BMW executive Reitzle now controls what could become the largest-volume luxury-car producer by mid-decade.
The gala dinner promises to be a momentous occasion. But during the two-day Congress delegates will also hear from the chief executives of Opel, Citroen, Ford of Europe, Ferrari/Maserati, Bosch, Valeo and Delphi Europe as well as senior executives at Renault, BMW, Volvo and Toyota Europe.
The Congress will begin on Monday morning, June 19, with a panel discussion on Connectivity: Supply Chain Management on the Web. Automaker purchasing and e-procurement heads and supplier company chiefs will give their views in a roundtable discussion prompted by questions from delegates
For further details and a full list of speakers, see Page 19.
