Automotive Industry Breakfast features Chrysler Group's CEO

The Dawda Mann law firm held its 5th annual Automotive Industry Breakfast April 30, featuring as keynote speaker Ralph Gilles, Chrysler Group's president and chief executive officer of the Street Racing Technology (SRT) Brand and Motorsports, and senior vice president of product design. Gilles discussed the SRT Brand from both marketing and engineering sides and Chrysler Group's overall commitment to building high-performance vehicles, including the 2013 SRT Viper. That car was unveiled to wide acclaim at the New York Auto Show on April 4. "As the in-house performance team at Chrysler Group, our SRT staff develops some of the most innovative vehicles in the world that always have the driving enthusiast in mind," said Gilles. "We also use our design and engineering resources to look at new materials, technologies and creature comforts that enhance the overall performance of SRT models. I'm excited to share more information about the SRT brand and our new lineup of high-performance vehicles." Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson was slated to provide introductory remarks at the breakfast, held at the Westin Book Cadillac hotel in Detroit. "As the U.S. auto industry continues to rebound, there is one definitive sign that southeast Michigan remains the automotive capital of the world," Patterson said. "In Automation Alley's 2011 Technology Industry Report, it states that southeast Michigan has the highest concentration of advanced auto industry jobs in the nation -- more than 9 percent of the industry's engineers, scientists, designers and others are located here." Dawda Mann, a law firm based in Bloomfield Hills, hosts its annual breakfast in conjunction with the SAE World Congress in order to bring together its clients and colleagues in the automotive industry. Dawda Mann's clientele includes Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, publicly and privately held companies of varied sizes and emerging businesses throughout the U.S. "The automotive industry remains vitally important to our region, and we're grateful to Ralph Gilles for sharing his insights into Chrysler Group and the industry's future," said Edward Dawda, a founding member of Dawda Mann. Gilles joined the former Chrysler Corp. in 1992 as a designer. Gilles was appointed president and chief executive officer of the Street Racing Technology (SRT) Brand and Motorsports in June 2011, and as senior vice president of product design in June 2009. Previously, he served as president and CEO of the Dodge brand. Published: Wed, May 23, 2012