Business

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Cover Story

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PEOPLE WHO TEST DRIVE A SAAB
USUALLY BUY ONE

LEASE A 2002 SAAB 9-5 WAGON

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Turbo charged engine standard.
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SAAB active head restraint.
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When the
economy
recovers,
Harold Kutner
sees a leaner,
meaner Covisint.

People who test drive a Saab usually buy one.

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On Telegraph Road

At The Tel-1 2 Moll,

Southfield, Ml 48034

1-888-306-5188

mpire

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11 / 1 5

2002

66

customers," Kutner said.
Suppliers who have come aboard the
Covisint bandwagon applaud Kutner
as a visionary. "Harold has been an
outstanding leader in the industry,
especially in recognizing the value cre-
ated by collaborative relations with
suppliers," said John Barth, president
and chief operating.officer of Johnson
Controls in Plymouth.
Kutner envisions a future where car
customers can tell the auto company
what special features they want on a
car. Then suppliers can bid on the
project in real time.
"Our product is a portal," Kutner
said. "The auto manufacturer can ask
Delphi, 'How many units can you pro-
duce? Are your plants running today?'
"It will cut the existing production
time of an automobile and help manu-
facturers reduce expensive inventories.
It now takes from 30 to 70 days just to
make a car."
The idea to create an industry stan-
dard and a global business exchange
was first formulated in February 2000.
The building of an organization was
completed in under a year.
DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General
Motors, Nissan, Renault, Commerce
One and Oracle were Covisint's found-
ing fathers. PSA Peugeot Citroen has
also joined the initiative.
The company has 280 employees
globally at headquarters in Amsterdam,
Tokyo and Southfield, and at offices in
Frankfurt, Paris and Brazil. In late July,
Covisint announced an agreement with
Fast Buyer, a Business Solutions (Fiat
Group) company, to supply online
purchasing to Fiat Group and its auto-
motive suppliers in Italy, Brazil and
Turkey.

Communal Resume

33082 Northwestern

between 14 & Orchard Lake Road

We do Good Work. -,„capi9

KUTNER from page 65

gta

Three days later, Kutner and his wife,
Judy, celebrated their 40th wedding
anniversary. Judy was active in the
United Jewish Appeal when the Kutner

family lived in Lansing. She headed the
Women's Division for three years. The
Kutners also lived in Buffalo, N.Y, and
in Saginaw.
They have two daughters: Andrea,
who is with Motorola in Chicago, and
Lauren; and three grandchildren.
Harold and Judy Kutner are members
of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield.
Kutner graduated from State
University of New York in 1963 and
joined GM's Harrison Radiator
Division finance department in
Lockport, N.Y. By 1981, he was direc-
tor of materials management for the
division.
He held the same position at the
Chevrolet Foundry Division in
Saginaw and in Lansing at the product
team for the former Buick-
Oldsmobile-Cadillac Group.
Kutner was elected a GM vice presi-
dent in 1994 in charge of worldwide
purchasing and North American pro-
duction control and logistics. He had
served in a similar role for GM's then-
Delphi Automotive (formerly
AC/Delco) subsidiary. He was elevated
in 1998 to GM group vice president.
"I've been pretty lucky," Kutner said.
He used his position at GM to help
develop Israeli suppliers for the auto-
motive giant and to assist minority
businesses in Detroit and across the
nation.
From 1995 thrugh 1997, Kutner
served as chairman of the Michigan
Minority Business Development
Council.
In 1996, he was appointed to the
board of the National Minority
Supplier Development Council and
was named chairman of its executive
committee.
Said former Detroit Mayor Dennis
Archer, "I think Harold Kutner epito-
mizes integrity."
"He has been a tremendous asset to
the overall well being of the metropoli-
tan area of Detroit," the mayor said.
"Through his leadership, he raised
the bar in the [General Motors] corpo-
ration."

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