SAGINAW, Mich. – Nexteer Automotive, a tier one automotive supplier committed exclusively to wheel-to-wheel advanced steering and driveline systems, today announced that Laurent Bresson and Ileana Simplicean have been added to the Nexteer Strategy Council. In addition, Bresson has been named vice president and chief operating officer of the International Division and Simplicean has been named senior vice president and general counsel.
“Nexteer is continuing to grow and expand globally and these individuals, along with the other members of our strategy council, are driving this global expansion,” said Robert J. Remenar, president and CEO. “Laurent’s and Ileana’s commitment to Nexteer and their extensive expertise are what make them perfect additions to the Nexteer Strategy Council.”
Laurent Bresson –vice president and division chief operating officer Bresson, 39, previously vice president, global sales and marketing, European region, will be responsible for all activities in Australia, India, Korea, Mexico, Brazil and Europe. Bresson also will continue to be responsible for overseeing global sales. He was first given global responsibility in 2009 and has previously held various positions in engineering, project management and sales for several Delphi divisions as well as various sales positions at Nexteer.
Ileana Simplicean – senior vice president and general counsel
Simplicean, 43, will be responsible for Nexteer’s global legal affairs. Simplicean is a multilingual corporate attorney with over 17 years of experience in the U.S. and the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA). She joins Nexteer from Delphi Corp. where she was most recently senior corporate counsel for Delphi EMEA. Since joining Delphi Corp. in 2003 she has held several executive level positions. She also serves on the board of directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in France. Prior to joining Delphi, Simplicean was a senior associate in the Paris office of the New York – based international law firm Paul Weiss. Before starting her legal career, Simplicean was an international marketing and sales executive at U.S.-based corporations. Simplicean has a joint bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in international studies,
business and foreign languages and the University of Nice (France) in business administration and advanced French studies. She also holds a joint juris doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh in corporate and international business law and the University of Paris 1 (Sorbonne) in European Union law. She is admitted to the New York Bar and Paris Bar.
ABOUT NEXTEER
Nexteer Automotive is a multi-billion dollar global steering and driveline business solely dedicated to electric and hydraulic steering systems, steering columns and driveline products for original equipment manufacturers. Its 9,800 workforce serves more than 60 customers in every major region of the world. The company has 20 manufacturing plants, five engineering centers and 14 customer service centers strategically located in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Nexteer Automotive’s customers include GM, Fiat, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler and PSA Peugeot Citroen, as well as automakers in India, China, and South America.