Bosch Executive George Kostopoulos Spoke at the Ross School

 Watch the video of Mr. Kostopoulos' speech at the Ross School (requires Windows           Media Player v10.0 or later)

When:  Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 5pm
Where:  Ross School of Business, room W0768

ANN ARBOR, Mich. —George Kostopoulos, Vice President of Sales for Robert Bosch LLC, gave a talk at 5:00 p.m. on November 18 in room W0768 of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. This event was free and open to the public. 

"The Automotive Industry… What’s Next?"

The global automotive industry employs over 8 million people directly, another 50 million indirectly, and has an output of nearly 2 trillion euros annually.  As a country, it would be the sixth largest economy in the world.  In his presentation, Mr. Kostopoulos discussed the immediate challenges facing the automotive industry, such as rising commodity prices and the credit crisis, as well as the long term challenge of finding solutions to meet ever more stringent legislative requirements. 

George Kostopoulos is the vice president of sales for chassis systems brakes at Robert Bosch LLC. In his current role, he is responsible for global sales of chassis brake components to the Ford Group (Ford, Mazda and Volvo).

During his thirteen years at Bosch, Kostopoulos has held various directorial sales positions with increasing responsibility in various automotive divisions at several Bosch sites including Farmington Hills, Michigan, Schwieberdingen, Germany, and Abstatt, Germany. Before joining Bosch in 1995, Kostopoulos worked as an engineering supervisor at ThyssenKrupp Budd and as a program manger at Magna International.

Kostopoulos holds a bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering from Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan and a master’s of science in mechanical engineering from University of Michigan, Dearborn, Michigan. He also earned his master’s of business administration from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. Kostopoulos is a registered professional engineer with the State of Michigan.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 260,000 associates generated sales of 43.7 billion euros, or $54.7 billion, in fiscal year 2006. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 300 subsidiary and regional companies in over 50 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth.

Bosch spends more than three billion euros each year for research and development, and in 2006 applied for over 3,000 patents worldwide. The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.”

In North America, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket products, industrial automation and mobile products, power tools and accessories, security technology, thermo-technology, packaging equipment and household appliances. Bosch employs 24,750 associates in more than 80 primary and 20 associated facilities throughout the region with reported sales of $8.8 billion in 2006. For more information on the company, visit www.bosch.us.

Sponsored by the Tauber Institute for Global Operations.

Tauber Institute media contact: bakerpa@umich.edu