KSS Announces Senior Leadership Change

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — August 23, 2017 — Key Safety Systems (KSS) announced today that Jason Luo has resigned as president and CEO. Concurrent with this change, Luo will also vacate his seat on the KSS board of directors. As announced by Ford Motor Co. earlier today, Luo has accepted the position of corporate vice president, chairman and CEO of greater China. KSS also announces the formation of new interim management committees to oversee the company’s operations and planned transaction and integration with Takata. An outside firm has been retained to assist in the search for the next KSS CEO.

Yuxin Tang will assume the role of executive director and interim president effective September 1, 2017. An automotive industry veteran, Tang currently serves as director of KSS and corporate vice president of Joyson, and was formerly an executive at SAIC General Motors Corp.

As part of the transition, KSS has also announced that chairman Jeff Wang will become executive chairman of the organization, also effective September 1, 2017.

To ensure continued, strong performance of the business and in anticipation of acquiring substantially all of Takata’s global assets and operations, as announced on June 26, 2017, the interim management committees that will report to Tang, comprise:

Takata Acquisition Management Committee — Focused on completing the transaction and initial integration of KSS and Takata:
Mark Decker – senior vice president, Global Human Resources
Ron Feldeisen – senior vice president, Global Sales & Marketing
Greg Heald – senior vice president, and President Asia Region
Joe Perkins – senior vice president, and CFO

Operational Excellence Management Committee — Focused on managing and improving KSS:
Andreas Brand – senior vice president, and President Europe Region
Tony Nardone – senior vice president, and President Americas Region
Jay Phillion – senior vice president, Global Quality
Mark Wehner – senior vice president, and Chief Technical Officer

Jason Luo said: “It has been an honor to lead KSS for more than a decade. My KSS colleagues have done admirable work in bringing new life-saving technologies to market, expanding our footprint, and growing our revenue more than two-fold. I wish the company well on its continued growth and success in the global automotive safety market.”

“We thank Jason for his years of exceptional leadership, which leaves KSS well positioned for further success, including the planned acquisition of Takata. The KSS management team and the company’s directors remain focused on executing this transaction expeditiously and integrating the two companies to create a global powerhouse able to compete at the highest level and serve the needs of our customers worldwide,” said KSS Chairman Jeff Wang.

Posted September 20, 2017

Source: KSS

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