Five minutes with: Jacqui Dedo, vice president and general manager of worldwide market operations for Motorola Automotive - The Supply Side - Brief Article - Interview

Automotive Industries,  July, 2002  by Andrea Wielgat

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Motorola is planning for a long future in Detroit with the recent opening of its new automotive headquarters just outside the city.

That future is highly reliant not only on telematics modules -- one of Motorola's key product lines -- but also on electronics.

With its engineering facilities, laboratories and innovation centers, the new headquarters will further help Motorola understand electronics while staying close to its major customers.

Jacqui Dedo, Motorola vice president and general manager of worldwide market operations for Motorola Automotive, recently sat down with Automotive Industries senior editor Andrea Wielgat to talk about the company's new headquarters, telematics plans and what else Motorola supplies.

Q. Why build the new headquarters and why build them in Detroit?

A. We're getting to a size where we need to have closer and closer interface with our customer. Our key North American customer has many facilities in the area. So the proximity is good. The new facility provides us more space to expand with the kinds of tools that our customer needs from us to provide them with better service.

Q. Because of the strong Motorola name people may not realize you sell more than just mobile phones and telematics units. What else do you supply?

A. Motorola began supplying to the auto industry 70 years ago with the invention of the first car radio. It's absolutely part of our foundation and heritage. We've continued to supply all sorts of electronics through the years to the auto industry worldwide. Today that includes cellular phones and telematics but it also includes powertrain control modules, chassis control modules such as transmisson and steering components and sensors. We currently are one of the market leaders for pressure sensors. We also have a strong presence in body or interior electronics.

Q. How important is telematics to Motorola?

A. Telematics is very important to Motorola. We have a very strong presence today in telematics that we've been developing over the last several years. There's a very strong future for telematics for the auto industry and Motorola's part of that.

Q. What can Motorola and the industry do to make telematics more successful and profitable?

A. I think telematics is growing at a pace that is comfortable. Obviously we'd all like it to be growing at a pace faster than that We think that we are doing the right thing by working with our service partners and customers to make sure that the dealer outlets and the outside world understands the benefits of telematics more. We have great testimonials of people who go from barely being aware it is in the vehicle to feeling they can never buy a vehicle without it because the one time they needed it it was there. Overtime you get more and more of those testimonials.

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