VC Visteon Corporation

Visteon CEO Addresses National Minority Supplier Development Council WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 2004 National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) Conference today in Washington, D.C., Michael F. Johnston, president and CEO of Visteon Corporation (NYSE:VC), discussed the value of partnering with minority-owned suppliers and why companies must accelerate their commitment to diversity to meet the demands of emerging markets. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001201/DEF008LOGO ) "Diversity is not just a purchasing initiative," said Johnston. "A successful minority-sourcing program simply can't exist in a vacuum. The companies that are most successful in minority supplier development are those that embrace diversity and inclusion as part of their corporate cultures." Johnston was invited to provide the perspective of a top corporate CEO on the topic, "View From the Top: The Future of Minority Business Development." The forum was one of several held over the four-day, 2004 NMSDC Conference. The NMSDC is one the country's leading business membership organizations, and was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes. The NMSDC network includes a national office in New York City and 39 Regional Councils across the country that certify and match more than 15,000 minority-owned businesses with member corporations that want to purchase goods and services. There are 3,500 corporate members in the NMSDC network. As CEO of the one of the world's largest automotive suppliers, Johnston pointed to the auto industry as being highly recognized for its commitment to diversity and minority supplier sourcing. "The challenge before us now is, 'How do we impact the speed of developing relationships and how do we go about increasing the depth of our dealings?'" Johnston said companies that already make supplier diversity a high priority must take that commitment to the next level. As an example, he pointed to Visteon's recent appointment of Henry Martin, Jr. as associate director of supplier diversity development. "Our goal," said Johnston, "is to institutionalize Minority Business Enterprise sourcing as a Visteon strategic business imperative." Johnston pointed to projections that the United States will be a nation of minorities by 2010, and the fact that the current generation of 10 to 25 year- olds "is the most diverse U.S. generation yet." "It makes good business sense," Johnston said, "that we work together to capitalize on what we can do to serve this diverse population with innovative, 'must have' products ... Diversity is a sound, good business practice that makes our companies better." Visteon Corporation is a leading full-service supplier that delivers consumer-driven technology solutions to automotive manufacturers worldwide and through multiple channels within the global automotive aftermarket. Visteon has approximately 72,000 employees and a global delivery system of more than 200 technical, manufacturing, sales and service facilities located in 25 countries. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001201/DEF008LOGO DATASOURCE: Visteon Corporation CONTACT: Jim Fisher of Visteon Corporation, +1-313-755-0635, Web site: http://www.visteon.com/

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