AUTO^e 2006 is the annual University of Michigan two-day conference now in its sixth year focused on the delivering a pragmatic view as to the state of information technologies within the auto industry by the thought leaders best equipped to do so - automotive CIO's.

The theme of this year's conference reflects the competing issues that automotive information technology leaders face. On one hand, the brightest opportunities for the automotive industry, such as collaborative design, supply chain integration, and PLM, are based on information technology. These initiatives need to be planned for and initiated now for the industry participants to thrive and prosper in the future.

On the other hand, the harsh realities of today's environment mean that resources are tightly constrained if they exist at all. Many organizations are focused simply on surviving the present.

How CIOs balance these interest will provide insight into the opportunities and threats facing automotive information technology participants.

AUTO^e 2006 is a one and a half-day format. The first day will consist of insightful and focused presentations by industry CIOs and executives followed by a candid question and answer session.

The half day workshop on the second day will consist of two tracks: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Information Lifecycle Management (ILM). The PLM workshop will focus on the use of digitalization and virtualization in developing, manufacturing, and servicing products. The ILM workshop will focus on the issues of automotive industry information, including security, information retention and disposal, and information sharing across supply chains.  Attendees will be able to select one or two day attendance options.

Conference Agenda: Thursday, April 27, 2006

9:00 am            Welcome and Introduction - Dr. Michael Grieves, AUTO^e Chair, University of Michigan

9:30 am            Presentation - Lorie Buckingham, CIO, Visteon Corporation

10:30 am          Networking Break with Sponsors

11:00 am          Presentation - Terry Kline, CIO General Motors Corp

12:00 am          Lunch

  1:30 pm          Presentation - Mario Leone, CIO, Federal Mogul Corp

 2:30 pm           Presentation - Spencer Ryan, CIO, Takata

 3:30 pm           Networking Break with Sponsors

 4:00 pm           Presentation - John Crary, CIO, Lear Corporation

 5:00 pm           Wrap-up and Networking Reception

Friday, April 28, 2006

9:00 am                       Welcome and Introduction - Dr. Michael Grieves, AUTO^e Chair, University of Michigan

9:30 am-12:00pm         Workshop 1 - Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

Workshop Moderator -   Dr. Michael Grieves, University of Michigan

9:30 am-12:00pm         Workshop 2 - Information Lifecycle Management (ILM)

                                   Workshop Moderator, Mr. John Crary, CIO, Lear Corporation