SAE Conference to focus on global market and innovation.

Society Of Automotive Engineers, Inc. (SAE) Sep 15, 2010

Press Release Summary:

With theme of Partnerships Driving Smart Mobility, SAE International Convergence 2010 will include keynotes by Derrick Kuzak, group vice president of Global Product Development at Ford Motor Company, and Mark Johnson, chairman of Innosight, a strategic innovation consulting and investing company. Scheduled for Oct 19-20 at Cobo Center in Detroit, event will also feature panel discussions in the morning followed by half-day technical sessions in the afternoon.

Original Press Release:

Innovation, Global Markets Focus of Speakers at SAE International Convergence 2010

WARRENDALE, Pa., -- Global product development and innovation will be the topics of the two keynote speakers at the SAE International Convergence 2010.

The keynote speakers are:

-- Derrick Kuzak, group vice president of Global Product Development at the Ford Motor Company. Kuzak has held the position since 2006 and leads a team responsible for delivering Ford products around the world.

-- Mark Johnson, chairman of Innosight, a strategic innovation consulting and investing company. Johnson has consulted to the Global 1000 and start-up companies in a wide range of industries--including health care, aerospace/defense, enterprise IT, energy, automotive, and consumer packaged goods--and has advised Singapore's government on innovation and entrepreneurship.

"I don't think there's another conference in the country with keynote speakers of this caliber," said Patti Kreh, conference director for SAE International. "Derek and Mark are the absolute experts in their respective fields and it's a quite a coup to have them at Convergence 2010."

SAE Convergence 2010 is a two-day automotive electronics conference held Oct. 19-20 at Cobo Center in Detroit. The theme for the 2010 show is Partnerships Driving Smart Mobility. The hosts of the event are the Ford Motor Company and Microsoft.

SAE Convergence 2010 also will feature panel discussions each morning followed and half-day technical sessions each afternoon.

Tuesday's events include:

The Blue Ribbon Panel comprised of seven industry experts will speak on the opportunities for the convergence of new technologies and services to deliver on the promise of smart automotive mobility for tomorrow.

Technical sessions on:

-- Smart Mobility Propelled by Green;

-- Smart Mobility is Connected; and

-- Learning Partnerships - Educators and Automotive EE Driving the Future of Science and Engineering.

Wednesday's events include:

Chat with the Experts will provide an informal and intimate opportunity for the audience and the experts to discuss topics relevant to the Convergence 2010 theme

The Carmakers Speak Panel with six industry experts will discuss carmakers' progress toward the electrification of vehicles and the associated challenges.

Technical sessions on:

-- Be Smart, Be Safe - Partnering to Create Safe Mobility;

-- Quantum Value Leaps Through Collaboration; and

-- Smartly Pulling it all Together - Systems Engineering.

Kevin Dallas, general manager of the Windows Embedded Business Unit for Microsoft, will be the keynote speaker at the Convergence banquet Tuesday night.

SAE Convergence 2010 will have up to 100 exhibitors on the show floor.

For more information or to request press credentials, visit www.sae.org/events/convergence/ or e-mail pr@sae.org.

SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In MotionÂ® and the Collegiate Design Series.