“It has been an honour 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,” said Jason Luo.

New interim management committees

KSS also announced 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 1 September. An automotive industry veteran, Mr Tang currently serves as director of KSS and corporate vice president of Joyson, and was formerly an executive at SAIC General Motors Corporation. As part of the transition, KSS has also announced that chairman Jeff Wang will become executive chairman of the organisation.

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

Takata Acquisition Management Committee:

• Mark Decker – SVP Global Human Resources
• Ron Feldeisen – SVP Global Sales & Marketing
• Greg Heald – SVP and President Asia Region
• Joe Perkins – SVP and Chief Financial Officer

Operational Excellence Management Committee:

• Dr Andreas Brand – SVP and President Europe Region
• Tony Nardone – SVP and President Americas Region
• Jay Phillion – SVP Global Quality
• Mark Wehner – SVP and Chief Technical Officer

“This latest investment illustrates our continuing and long-standing commitment to increase our cost competitiveness and strong presence in the region,” said Greg Heald, KSS Senior Vice President and President Asia Region.

KSS

Key Safety Systems (KSS) is a leader in mobility safety through the system integration and performance of safety-critical components to the automotive and non-automotive markets serving the active safety, passive safety and specialty product sectors. Through specialised design, development, and manufacturing, KSS’ technology is featured in more than 300 vehicle models produced by over 60 well-diversified customers worldwide.

Since commencing business as a United States start-up, serving Detroit auto makers in 1916, KSS today is headquartered in Sterling Heights, MI, with a global network of around 13,000 employees in 33 sales, engineering, and manufacturing facilities.

www.keysafetyinc.com