Steve Saxty Joins J.D. Power and Associates as Executive Director of Automotive Marketing Solutions

Business Wire, August 4, 2005

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- Steve Saxty has joined J.D. Power and Associates as executive director, marketing solutions for the U.S. Auto Group.

Mr. Saxty will be responsible for developing brand marketing solutions and strategies that complement the firm's existing car and truck media studies and Internet-based digital marketing products. He is a recognized industry expert on brand and market strategies.

"Steve adds an important new dimension to J.D. Power and Associates' growing consulting business," said Bob Reilly, executive vice president of client solutions at J.D. Power and Associates. "It is obvious to us and our clients that their brands need to receive credit in the marketplace for the quality of their products and retail efforts. Steve's experience in producing programs that help brands maximize their return on their communications investment will be vital in helping our clients to position their products and brands in the marketplace so that perception matches reality."

Mr. Saxty previously owned the consulting firm PowerBrand. Prior to that he was an executive director with FutureBrand, where he was responsible for the global automotive practice. Earlier in his career, he was a partner with Automotive Answers, a European firm that specialized in auto market strategy. Mr. Saxty has also worked for Ford, Mazda and Porsche in various capacities in Europe.

He was educated at Oxford University, where he specialized in vehicle design, and at North East London Polytechnic University. He has also been a guest lecturer on marketing and branding at the University of Hertfordshire.

Mr. Saxty will be based at the McGraw-Hill Companies offices in New York City.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors, including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education and BusinessWeek. The Corporation has more than 300 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2004 were $5.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates (www.jdpower.com).