Matthew Simoncini is an easy-going Detroit native who became CEO of auto supplier Lear in September 2011 after five years as the company’s chief financial officer.
Back in 2009, Simoncini, 52, helped guide Lear through a painful bankruptcy reorganization. Like dozens of other suppliers, Lear found itself with more debt than its shrinking revenue could support.
Over the last three years, Lear has not only regained its financial footing, but is growing again in North America and in emerging markets.
For that accomplishment and his involvement with the Detroit Public Schools, Simoncini won the Free Press Automotive Leadership Award for suppliers.
«They have really changed their focus to be more cooperative, and Matt is doing a lot to change the culture not only externally but internally … from a culture that was pretty aggressive for a lot of years,» said Bill Diehl, CEO of automotive consulting firm BBK and one of this year’s judges.
Lear’s stock price, trading at cents on the dollar in 2009, has soared above $48 this past week, up 20% from the start of 2012.
Today, Lear is one of the four largest manufacturers of electrical components and the second-largest automotive seat-maker.
In December, Lear announced plans to build a new wiring harness plant this year in Morocco that will employ about 700 workers.
In addition, Lear has recently opened plants in China, Brazil and Thailand.
Those new plants have helped Lear more than double its annual electronics sales from $2 billion in 2009 to more than $4 billion last year.
Lear’s electronic products include interior lights, exterior lights, wiring harnesses, key fobs, power distribution boxes, terminals and connectors.
Seats remain crucial to the supplier’s growth strategy. In May, Lear acquired seat fabric maker Guilford Mills from Cerberus Capital Management.
With $400 million in annual sales, Guilford Mills gives Lear an advantage especially in the market for luxury cars and other vehicles offering high-end seating and trim packages, Simoncini said.
«The first thing you touch and the first thing you feel when you get in a car is the seat,» Simoncini said.
Headquartered in Wilmington, N.C., Guilford has supplied fabrics to automotive and specialty markets for more than 40 years.
«We are the leading maker of luxury seats,» Simoncini said. «Besides Cadillac and Lincoln, we also make seats for Ferraris, high-end Mercedes, Maserati and Porsche.»
Simoncini grew up in Detroit’s East English Village neighborhood and earned a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University.
Last year, Simoncini spearheaded the development of a new program for the Detroit schools that teaches college-bound high school students how to mentor younger students.
In a letter written in support of Simoncini, Roy Roberts, emergency financial manager for DPS, said the result of his efforts was the start of a three-year program through which 100 high school students at East English Village Preparatory Academy will spend four days a week tutoring elementary students at neighboring J.E. Clark Preparatory Academy.
«In his first year as Lear’s top official, Simoncini quickly reached out to make a difference in the lives of students, a school and a community,» Roberts wrote.
The East English Village mentoring program led other companies in metro Detroit to undertake similar partnerships.
«I have always struggled with the idea that your chances in life … greatly depend on the ZIP code you are born in,» Simoncini said. «And I feel the schools really need help to prepare students for college or universities.»
Contact Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.
Читать полностью или написать коммент.. Про установку спутниковых тарелок в Московской областиhttp://tarelka-tv.ru/
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий