Rudolph A. Schlais, Jr. Group Vice President, General Motors Corp. President, Asia Pacific Operations (Pte.) Ltd., General Motors Corp.

Rudolph A. Schlais, Jr., has been Group Vice President of General Motors Corporation as well as President of General Motors Asia Pacific (Pte.) Ltd. since June 1998. Based in Singapore, Schlais is responsible for the overall coordination of GM and Opel vehicle operations in the region.

Prior to this appointment, Schlais was the President of GM China Operations, beginning in October 1994, where he was responsible for GM's business development and vehicle assembly, including the construction of the new plant in Shanghai. During his assignment, GM's total shared investment in ventures increased from $12 million to a commitment of approximately $2 billion by 1998 and representative offices for vehicle and powertrain operations were established in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang.

In addition, under Schlais' leadership, GM has been active in supporting the establishment and improvement of Sino-U.S. and Sino-European relations through a multitude of education, technology and government initiatives. Schlais was elected Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce of China, Beijing, in 1998 and in 1997 he served as its U.S. Government Relations Committee Chairman.

Prior to being assigned to GM China Operations, Schlais was General Manager of Packard Electric Division and VP of GM. Packard was number one in its global market segment with sales exceeding $4.5 billion and over 50 percent of sales to vehicle manufacturers other than GM with manufacturing in 32 countries and supplying all global vehicle producers.

Schlais is a graduate of Youngstown University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master's of Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He attended the Dartmouth College, Amos Tuck Business School, Executive Program.

Starting his GM career at Packard Electric Division after his graduation in 1960, Schlais held various positions in manufacturing, product engineering, plant supervision, corporate planning and sales with international responsibility. He became General manager of new Departure Hyatt, Sandusky, in 1987 and Delco Products Division, in Kettering, Ohio, in 1989. He was appointed General Manager of the Packard Electric Division in 1990.

Schlais has devoted his career to developing businesses which are "Customer Focused," "Provide acceptable returns to the investors," and "Benefit the partners."

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