Rick Wagoner, Chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation will headline JVS’ Strictly Business Networking and Awards Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on June 16 at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn. During the event, Wagoner will deliver the keynote speech and address the 700 business and community leaders expected to attend.
     Strictly Business attracts the who’s who in the corporate and civic community, providing exceptional marketing and networking opportunities. For sponsorship levels and benefits, click here.
     The Chrysler Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor. Kenwal Steel is the Luncheon Underwriter and The Ford Motor Company Fund is the Awards Underwriter. To join these sponsors and the 200 others that support the event, contact Judy Strongman at (248) 233-4213 or jstrongman@jvsdet.org for sponsorship or ticket information.
     Rick Wagoner was elected GM chairman and chief executive officer on May 1, 2003. He had been president and chief executive officer since June 2000.
     Wagoner was elected president and chief operating officer in 1998 and had been executive vice president of GM and president of North American Operations since 1994. He served as executive vice president and chief financial officer from 1992 to 1994 and also had responsibility for worldwide purchasing from 1993 to 1994.
     Wagoner was president and managing director of General Motors do Brasil (GMB) in 1991 and 1992. Prior to that, he was vice president in charge of finance for General Motors Europe based in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1989 and 1990.
     Born in Wilmington, Delaware, on February 9, 1953, and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Wagoner received a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University in 1975 and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1977.
    Wagoner began his GM career as an analyst in the Treasurer's Office in New York in 1977. After several promotions there, in 1981 he became treasurer of GMB in São Paulo. In 1984, he became executive director of finance for GMB. He moved to GM of Canada Limited in 1987 as vice president and finance manager. In October 1988, he became group director, strategic business planning, for the former Chevrolet-Pontiac-GM of Canada Group.
     Wagoner is a member of the boards of trustees of Duke University and Detroit Country Day School, the Board of Dean's Advisors of the Harvard Business School, and the Board of Directors of Catalyst. He is chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers A World In Motion Executive Committee, and a member of The Business Council, The Business Roundtable, and the Detroit Renaissance Executive Committee.