leadership team

Craig Cather, President & Chief Executive Officer

Bob Swistock, Chief Financial Officer

Gregory Mount, Chief Economist

Michael Robinet, Vice President, Global Vehicle Forecasts

Paul Haelterman, Vice President, Global Advisory Services

David Lauth, Vice President, Europe

Robert Perkins, Director, Supply Chain & Technology Forecasts

Mike Jackson, Director, North American Vehicle Forecasts

Mark Fulthorpe, Director, European Vehicle Forecasts

Hiromu Kakishita, Director, Asian Business Development

Paulo Cardamone, Director, South America

 

Katherine M. Cather, Chairman of the Board

Greg Janicki, Chief Operating Officer

Mark Willis, Chief Architect

Eric Fedewa, Vice President, Global Powertrain Forecasts

John Brennan, Vice President, Global Business Development

Masaki Taketani, Vice President, Asia

Yale Zhang, Director, Greater China Vehicle Forecasts

Debbie Keipper, Director, Global Marketing

Jim Nader, Director, North American Business Development

Jim Gillette, Director, Financial Services

Mike Wall, Director, Global Financial Services



Craig Cather

Craig Cather
President & Chief Executive Officer

Craig Cather is President and Chief Executive Officer of CSM Worldwide.

Prior to founding CSM in 1991, Craig was Vice President of Engineering Management Associates, a project management firm which works closely with General Motors' Lansing Automotive Division. He also played a key role in establishing ELM International, an automotive research firm, where he held the position of Director of Marketing.

Craig has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University and a Master of International Management degree from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird). He has been a guest speaker at a variety of automotive events for organizations such as the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Automotive & Transportation Interiors, the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Automotive News World Congress, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Lawrence Technological University. He is also regularly quoted in a wide variety of business and trade journals including The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg Business News, The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Ward's Automotive Reports, Automotive News, and others.

Craig is a past president and board member of the Society of Automotive Analysts and an affiliate member of the Original Equipment Supplier Association (OESA) and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

Katie Cather

Katherine M. Cather
Chairman of the Board

Katie Cather holds the position of Chairman of the Board of CSM Worldwide. Prior to joining CSM, Katie held the position of Director of Membership Services with the Michigan Non-Profit Homes Association, a long-term care trade association. She was responsible for marketing strategy and implementation as well as membership education and conference planning. Prior to her association work, she spent more than four years in the field of labor law.

Katie is currently a board member of the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan and served as the Treasurer of the National chapter of the WAAI. She attended Northwood University.

Bob Swistock

Bob Swistock
Chief Financial Officer

"Robert J. Swistock was named Chief Financial Officer in January, 2005. He is responsible for CSM's global finance, accounting, financial controls and tax functions. He brings a strong financial background with 25 years of CFO experience, including NYSE- and NASDAQ-listed companies where he directed financial transactions, SEC and NASDAQ reporting, mergers and acquisitions, and implemented cost efficiencies."

Prior to CSM, Bob was president and founder of Corporate Financial Advisors in Ann Arbor, a strategic financial planning service for business owners, where he revised financial controls, implemented cash flow reporting and managed debt and equity. He also held CFO positions at Reynard Motorsport Inc., CGAS, Inc. and Patrick Petroleum Company.

Bob holds bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration from the University of Michigan. He has served as president of the Institute of Management Accountants, Ann Arbor Chapter and is a member of the Financial Executives Institute and the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants. He also serves as treasurer of the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce and Ann Arbor Rotary International. He lives in Chelsea, Mich.

Greg Janicki

Greg Janicki
Chief Operating Officer

Greg Janicki joined CSM Worldwide, Inc. in 1993. In his position as Chief Operating Officer, he provides the leadership, management and vision necessary to ensure that the company has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people in place to effectively grow the organization. In his previous role with CSM as Vice President, Greg coordinated CSM's global automotive component research activities. He is regularly quoted in the automotive press and has given presentations at a wide range of automotive events.

Prior to joining CSM, Greg was Operations Manager at ASQ Corporation, a Japan-based automotive research firm.

"In addition to his position with CSM, Greg is a volunteer mentor for the ART of Leadership Foundation, which provides leadership training to inner city elementary and middle school students. Greg is also a freelance writer with contributions appearing in numerous trade and general interest publications and is the author of 'Cars Europe Never Built,' a history of Europe's experimental vehicles. Greg is also an avid marathoner."

Greg holds a B.A. degree from Michigan State University.

Gregory Mount

Gregory Mount
Chief Economist

Greg Mount is responsible for developing and integrating macro-sales forecast scenarios and models into CSM Worldwide's global forecast.

Prior to joining CSM Worldwide, Greg was Deputy Chief Economist and First Vice President for Bank One Corporation in Chicago, Illinois.

A skilled macroeconomist with expertise on the U.S. economy, U.S. equity markets and international trade, Greg is recognized as an authority on the economies of Australia, Canada, China, developing Asia, Europe, Japan, Mexico and South America.

Greg holds an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a B.A. in economics from Northwestern University.

Mark Willis

Mark Willis
Chief Architect

Mark Willis focuses on leveraging technology as a strategic weapon for CSM Worldwide in pursuit of its mission - being the global leader in providing the automotive community with the knowledge and foresight to make well-informed, timely decisions. A primary emphasis is creating the blueprint for the next-generation CSM systems that aligns with and enables the evolution of CSM into a product & service company. This blueprint, which is a technical representation of the CSM business strategy, encompasses systems used by CSM directly as well as those used by partners and clients to make informed decisions based on CSM's expertise.

Prior to joining CSM Worldwide in January, 2006, Mark was the technical lead for Patmos FEA Consulting, the third software company he co-founded. He was responsible for the end-to-end architecture, design, development and delivery of Patmos' Finite Element Analysis (FEA) solution which analyzes complex biological tissue and man-made composites. Before that, Mark provided architectural leadership in developing the vision and strategy to transition Carlson Marketing Group's mainframe and client/server technology assets to an Inter/Extranet service-oriented architecture.

Mark holds an M.S. in Computer Science/Artificial Intelligence from the University of Michigan, and a B.S. in Computer Science/AI & Mathematics with a Psychology minor from Taylor University. He also has numerous Microsoft and Java developer and architect certifications.

Michael Robinet

Michael Robinet
Vice President, Global Vehicle Forecasts

Michael Robinet has been Vice President, Global Vehicle Forecasts since 2002. His responsibilities include global sales, capacity and production forecasting; future product program intelligence; platform and component commonization trends; OEM strategies; country-level market analysis; and, supplier and OEM facility rationalization issues.

Michael has more than 18 years experience in automotive forecasting, strategic analysis and manufacturing finance. Prior to joining CSM Worldwide, he worked at various automotive research companies and was schooled in finance at a major Tier 1 supplier. He has been widely quoted by major print, radio and television media worldwide on a variety of topics surrounding global light vehicle production issues.

Michael holds an undergraduate degree in economics and a M.B.A. from the University of Windsor, Canada. He is a member of the Detroit section of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Automotive Press Association and the Society of Automotive Analysts, and is an active on various committees of the Automotive Parts Manufacturer's Association of Canada.

Eric Fedewa

Eric Fedewa
Vice President, Global Powertrain Forecasts

Eric Fedewa is responsible for global powertrain sales and production forecasting, future product program intelligence and market analysis, assessing future technologies and trends, and supplier and global integration issues. He has authored more than 170 individual market studies assessing the supply of components and systems in support of vehicle build with an emphasis on supply chain analysis and material and technology usage trends.

Prior to joining CSM Worldwide in 1993, Eric participated in advanced studies of automotive engine theory, design and machining technologies while holding an advisory position addressing pre-production serviceability concerns at the Midsize Car Division of General Motors.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Automotive and Heavy Equipment Fixed Operations Management from Ferris State University. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Automotive Press Association and the Society of Automotive Analysts.

Paul Haelterman

Paul Haelterman
Vice President, Global Advisory Services

As Director of Market Assessment at CSM Worldwide, Paul Haelterman performs focused and custom analysis of the global automotive marketplace for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. He has more than 31 years of experience in the global automotive business, encompassing product manufacturing, product development, business development, joint venture and strategic alliance creation and strategic sales and marketing in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Prior to joining CSM Worldwide, Paul spent 16 years with a Top-10 global Tier 1 supplier in various executive positions including quality manager, business group manager, director of program management, executive director of marketing and vice president of sales & marketing. Previously, he spent 10 years with a major automotive OEM in various manufacturing support activities.

Paul's formal training is in quality and reliability engineering.

John Brennan

John Brennan
Vice President, Global Business Development

John Brennan, director of global business development for CSM Worldwide, is responsible for global revenue, new customer acquisitions, overseeing company marketing strategies and incorp$orating new software technologies into CSM product offerings to enhance the customer value.

John joined CSM in December 2001, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience in automotive supplier marketing and e-business software technologies. Previously he was the automotive industry manager at VerticalNet Inc., where he directed the company's automotive e-marketplace, AutoCentral.com. Prior to that, he held sales positions of increasing responsibility at Automotive Industries magazine, ultimately serving as national sales manager, working closely with auto suppliers to develop marketing and advertising strategies.

John graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelors in Business Administration in Marketing. He is also a former board member of the Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit.

David Lauth

David Lauth
Vice President, Europe

David Lauth recently joined CSM as Vice President, Europe, bringing nearly two decades of automotive market research and consulting experience. He is responsible for directing the firm's business development activities and implementing its strategic plan in Europe.

Prior to joining CSM Worldwide in February 2008, Mr. Lauth was managing director for J.D. Power and Associates responsible for founding and managing the German operation. From 2000 to 2004 Mr. Lauth was the global client director for Urban Science International, a global market representation and sales channel optimization consulting company. Prior to that, he was operations manager for JATO Dynamics, where he set up and managed the firm's German research, sales and client support operation.

Mr. Lauth also worked in the after-sales arena at Volkswagen for 12 years. This included two extensive foreign assignments in South Africa and the UK.

Mr. Lauth attended the Technical College for Automotive Engineering and the Porsche Vocational Technical College in West Berlin, Germany, after which he earned the German National Technician Certificate.

Robert Perkins

Robert Perkins
Director, Supply Chain and Technology Forecasts

Robert Perkins, Director of Global Supply Chain Technology Forecasts with CSM Worldwide leads a team of automotive analysts responsible for researching market drivers (economic, regulatory, demographic), assessing technology trends, forecasting installation take rates, and maintaining awareness of OEM sourcing/supply strategies. He has significant operational and process management experience, and has successfully delivered a broad spectrum of business strategy, market intelligence, and product assessments engagements for OEM and Tier 1 clients.

Leading both domestic and international teams during his 20 year career in the manufacturing and consulting industries, he has held senior and executive management positions within Program Management, Product Development, Business Management, Commercial, and Quality functions. He has been responsible for developing and executing global expansion plans; driving operational and financial improvements within manufacturing companies; developing business and strategy plans focused on organizational growth; and successfully bringing complex, high technology products to market.

Bob holds an MS degree in Information Systems from Eastern Michigan University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Yale Zhang

Yale Zhang
Director, Greater China Vehicle Forecasts

Yale Zhang is responsible for incorporating manufacturer program intelligence, marketing and production strategies into CSM Worldwide's Greater China Market forecast. He has more than eight years of experience in the Chinese automotive market and has worked for Automotive Resources Asia, Ltd. in Beijing, where he led in-depth market research studies for major OEMs.

Yale has spoken before key automotive forums, including the Economist Automotive Roundtable and China Automotive Post-WTO Markets & Strategies seminar, and is widely quoted in national and international publications. He holds a B.A. degree in economics.

Before entering the automotive research field, he had five years of market research experience in other industries.

Mike Jackson

Mike Jackson
Director, North American Vehicle Forecasts

Mike Jackson serves as Director, North American Vehicle Forecasts at CSM Worldwide. His responsibilities include sales and production forecasting, industry surveillance, and product planning and vehicle lifecycle analysis. He brings years of automotive experience with an emphasis on strategic planning activities, international marketing and product assessment. He is frequently quoted by leading print, radio and television media on the industry and the light vehicle production environment.

Prior to joining CSM Worldwide, Mike was Lead Marketing Strategist for the North American operations of electrical system supplier Alcoa Fujikura, Ltd. Earlier, he served as.A. in international marketing from Wayne State University.

Masaki Taketani

Masaki Taketani
Director, Asian Vehicle Forecasts

Masaki Taketani is responsible for manufacturer program intelligence, marketing and production strategies, light vehicle production and sales forecasting, and market trends for the Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian markets vehicle forecasts.

Masaki joined CSM Worldwide in 2000, bringing more than a decade of experience within the sales and planning in both Japan and the United States. Previously, he served as Overseas Business Development General Manager for Nanjo USA Corporation.

Masaki writes a column for the Nikkei Business Online. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Japan Business Society of Detroit. He holds a B.S. degree in business from the Hiroshima Shudo University.

Mark Fulthorpe

Mark Fulthorpe
Director, European Vehicle Forecasts

Mark Fulthorpe joined CSM Worldwide's European staff in 1999 as Manager of European Forecast Services. He is responsible for European light vehicle sales and production forecasting, future product program intelligence, platform strategies and market analysis. Before joining CSM, Mr. Fulthorpe spent three years as a Business Analyst with Capita Business Services where he was part of a business development team responsible for the supply of data and data services to UK-based vehicle manufacturers and importers.

Mark has spent most of his career in the automotive sector. Prior to Capita, group working on light vehicle forecasts covering the former Soviet Union. He also spent time as a Research Executive with MIL Motoring Research (NOP Automotive) where he ran a Customer Satisfaction program across Western Europe on behalf of Jaguar Cars. He began his career at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), reporting UK sales and registration data.

Mark holds an honours degree in English Literature from the University of London, Goldsmiths College.

Debbie Keipper

Debbie Keipper
Director, Global Marketing

Debbie Keipper joined CSM Worldwide in May, 2006 as Director of Global Marketing, bringing seven years of niche automotive service marketing experience. Her focus is to strengthen the CSM brand while aligning marketing and communications.

Prior to joining CSM Worldwide, Debbie spent nearly five years as International Marketing Director at Urban Science, a global automotive consulting organization, where she helped to promote the company as retail sales channel strategists through inventive initiatives such as regionalized industry-specific roundtables. She also spent two years as Marketing Manager for the Automotive Industry Action Group, a globally-recognized organization that provides an open forum for members to cooperate in developing solutions that enhance the automotive industry.

Debbie holds an undergraduate degree in marketing from Michigan State University and a master's degree in Business from Oakland University. She is a member of Inforum and the American Marketing Association.

Hiromu Kakishita

Hiromu Kakishita
Director, Asian Business Development

Hiromu Kakishita joined CSM worldwide in 2002 with responsibility for business development in the Asian market.

Previously, Hiromu held a series of positions in purchasing and sales for 24 years with Kawashima Textile Manufacturers in Japan and the United States, where his responsibilities included sales and marketing to Japanese major automakers.

Hiromu holds a law degree from Kyoto Sangyo University in Kyoto, Japan.

Jim Nader

Jim Nader
Director, North American Business Development

Jim Nader, director of North American business development for CSM Worldwide, oversees the North American sales team and is responsible for client development and retention in the region. He joined CSM in July 1998 in an analyst role as market assessment manager before moving to business development in 2000.

Prior to joining CSM, Jim spent six years as an account manager for AutoTech Technology Development (a division of Kenmar Corporation) where he supported the commercializatEion of automotive technologies.

Jim graduated from the University of Michigan with Bachelor of Arts degrees in economics and sociology. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Detroit Economic Club, the Marketing & Sales Executives of Detroit, the Michigan Mountain Biking Association, and the BMW Car Club of America.

Paulo Cardamone

Paulo Cardamone
Director, South America

Paulo Cardamone has worked in partnership with CSM Worldwide since 1997. He is responsible for CSM's South American Vehicle Production Forecast Service that incorporates analysis of manufacturer and product strategies and for Component and Powertrain research.

Paulo has worked in the automotive industry for more than 27 years, with extensive experience in market analysis and forecasting from a supplier perspective. He has worked extensively in the distribution and aftermarket segments of the industry and has served as President of the Forecast Commission of Sindipecas, a Brazilian automotive supplier association that forecasts the auto parts industry in Brazil.

Paulo holds a B.S. degree in statistics and an M.B.A. in marketing.

Jim Gillette

Jim Gillette
Director, Supplier Analysis

Jim Gillette provides custom analysis and relationship management for CSM's financial clients. Prior to joining CSM, Jim spent time as a Strategic Forecast Analyst for Amway Corporation; Marketing Controller and Corporate Economist for Foremost Insurance; Strategic Marketing Consultant for the Automotive Components Group (currently Delphi) of General Motors; and Vice President of Automotive Forecasting with IRN, Inc.

Jim has spoken before groups of automotive suppliers in such disparate locations as Stuttgart, Germany, Milan, Italy, Seoul, South Korea, and Nagoya, Japan. He is widely quoted in the news media on automotive issues. He has appeared on CNBC and the Fox News Network and has authored numerous articles and management reports on a wide range of automotive topics.

In addition to his automotive consulting, Jim teaches courses in finance at the undergraduate and graduate levels at the Grand Valley State University Seidman School of Business.

Mike Wall

Mike Wall
Director, North American Advisory Services

Mike Wall joined CSM Worldwide in April 2003, bringing eight years of financial analysis, consulting and manufacturing experience. His focus at CSM is on custom client needs and in-depth analysis of vehicle markets and trends. Prior to joining CSM Worldwide, Mike served as Director of Forecasting for IRN, Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he focused on analysis of auto industry trends, with primary responsibilities for quarterly North American vehicle forecasts and analysis of diverse manufacturers and vehicle markets.

Mike is quoted frequently in the automotive trade press on topics ranging from North American vehicle production to interior/safety trends. He has also written columns on North American automotive issues for Vehicle News, Automotive Industries and the Western Michigan Business Journal.

Mike also has experience working in the finance and product launch field for a major Tier I supplier. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with an undergraduate degree in Finance from Grand Valley State University and earned the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Analysts and the Institute of Management Accountants.

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