Fifth Annual Global Automotive
Conference Begins Monday

April 16, 2004

Bowling Green, Ky. - The fifth annual Global Automotive Conference, sponsored by Western Kentucky University's Office of Global Business, is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at the Sloan Convention Center.

Speakers for this year's event include Gov. Ernie Fletcher; Heyi Xu, chairman of Beijing Hyundai Motor Co.; Ian Browde, Nokia's director of Strategy and Business Development Enterprise Solutions; Mark Emkes, chairman and CEO of Bridgestone America's Holding, Inc; Martin McKinley, president of Wells Fargo Business Credit; and Stephen Walukas, vice president of Corporate Quality for DaimlerChrysler.

The conference begins Monday morning with a tour of the General Motors Corvette plant. Workshops are planned from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., WKU President Gary Ransdell will welcome conference participants before keynote addresses by Heyi Xu and Wil Cooksey, Corvette plant manager.

Tuesday's sessions begin at 8 a.m. with Gov. Fletcher hosting the luncheon at 12:30 p.m. Browde will be the luncheon's featured speaker. The conference concludes with a panel discussion on "The Future of North America's Automotive Industry" from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

For information, contact the Office of Global Business at (270) 745-6522 or visit http://gac.ky.net/

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-WKU-