- Official automotive sponsor of Summit's opening ceremony BERLIN, June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DaimlerChrysler is the exclusive automotive sponsor of the opening ceremony for the 17th annual Global Summit of Women 2007, which is being held in Berlin, Germany June 14-16, 2007. It marks the eighth year that the company has sponsored the Summit. The theme of this year's conference, "The Global Marketplace: Opportunities and Challenges," serves as a platform for idea-sharing to energize women who are actively involved in commerce around the world. "A goal of our Global Diversity Management is to more rigorously promote women to top-level positions," said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of DaimlerChrysler AG and Head of Mercedes Car Group. "According to numerous international studies, companies with women in management positions are generally more successful. In addition, increasing numbers of our customers are women, and if our employee base reflects our customers and society as a whole, we can better understand and serve current and potential customers. The Global Summit of Women contributes substantially to strengthening the public awareness of this relationship between customer and employee base." DaimlerChrysler's Susan Unger, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, was a featured speaker and host of the Summit's opening ceremony Thursday evening. "The Summit provides DaimlerChrysler an opportunity to share our commitment to increasing opportunities for women in the automotive industry, as well as in the global market," said Unger. The Global Summit of Women brings together women from all industries and from every corner of the world to discuss the business challenges facing women, as they strive to take on greater roles in companies and governments. The Global Summit of Women also focuses on accelerating women's economic development with an emphasis on cross-border business and professional alliances. More than 35 women from DaimlerChrysler's operations in North America and Europe participated in the Summit, including Monica Emerson, Executive Director - Corporate Diversity, and Sandra Bouckley, Plant Manager - Pilot Operations, Conner Avenue (Detroit, Mich.) Assembly Plant and Sterling Heights Vehicle Technical Center. "Diversity is a unique source of innovation and strength at DaimlerChrysler, so it's no surprise the company values and champions diversity issues in the U.S. and around the world," said Emerson. "By sending a delegation to the Global Summit of Women, we are providing our employees with a powerful, career development experience to gain insight from professional women from all over the map." DaimlerChrysler realizes that success is a function of inclusiveness and strives to include and empower diverse people and partners in order to design and build great vehicles. It also works towards meeting the changing expectations of customers and the communities it serves, while taking into account the influence of women in the marketplace. For example, in the U.S., women are involved in the decision-making process for nearly 85 percent of all new-vehicle purchases. In Europe, the number climbs to 87 percent. Unger emphasized that, even in times of change, DaimlerChrysler remains loyal to the principles of a diverse workforce. "While there will be a change in DaimlerChrysler's relationship and a different ownership structure in the future, what will not change or be diminished is the commitment to diversity and the growth of women in the business place." For the last ten years, the Chrysler Group has been named as one of the top-100 companies for working mothers by Working Mother magazine, and was recently named "one of the 50 best companies for diversity" and "one of the top ten companies for supplier diversity" by DiversityInc. According to the Chrysler Group's human resource department, since 1999, the company has seen a 70 percent improvement in the representation of women at the executive level. Women comprise more than 21 percent of the Chrysler Group workforce, while minorities in total comprise 30 percent. In Germany, DaimlerChrysler established a mentoring program for women in executive positions. In addition, the company previously announced that new daycare centers will provide 350 nursery places at plant locations throughout Germany for children under three years of age. And, in 2006, the company received the "Total E-Quality Award" by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, which recognizes companies that actively support and implement equal opportunities in their personnel policy. DATASOURCE: Chrysler Group CONTACT: Mary Beth Halprin of Chrysler Group, +1-248-766-1551, or Web site: http://www.media.daimlerchrysler.com/ http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/

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