North America Account Manager

George S. Kourtakis

**** ***** *****, ******** ********, Michigan 48382-4812

Home 248-***-**** / Mobile 313-***-****

Email: *********@*******.***

OBJECTIVE

Obtain a position in the design and development of new products and/or the optimization of current products and processes.

SUMMARY of QUALIFICATIONS

Have extensive experience in automotive design, engineering; product development, problem solving, and project and program management. 75% of which were contract, and the remainder being direct hire.

Have experience in managing projects and design engineering teams from concept through to production.

Have experience in many of the design & engineering disciplines’, such as GD&T, DFMEA & DVP&R.

Have experience in various CAD software; Solid Works, Catia V5, NXII, & IDEAS, plus Microsoft Office and GD&T.

Have excellent communication skills with customers and colleagues.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Camaco, LLC, Farmington Hills, MI

Senior Account Manager October 2023– June 2024

- Manage program account(s), Produce quotes, address customer commercial issues and concerns for both traditional and Non-traditional OEMs

- Secure new business with EV Startups.

- Support program team members to ensure customer requirements are met.

Daechang Seat Company, Farmington Hills, MI

Senior Sales Engineer June 2021– August 2023

- With Headquarters based in South Korea, I was hired to head up and Manage the North American Sales/Engineering office to expand the North America manufacturing and customer base.

- Introducing our products and manufacturing capabilities to the North American OEM’s and Tier one suppliers.

- Provide engineering support for our manufacturing plants located in the North America

- Provide engineering and plant support to our customers once business is secured and post SOP.

Hyundai Transys, Farmington Hills, MI

General Manager- Seat Engineering April 2017– June 2021

- With Headquarters based in South Korea, I was hired to head up and Manage the North American Engineering office to develop new products and expand the customer base in North America.

- Working with Ford Motor Company, General Motors and many of the EV Startups in both Michigan and California.

- Preform packaging studies and prepare proposals and for potential customers.

- Provide engineering support to customers once business is secured and post SOP.

Brose North America, Auburn Hills, MI

Senior Project Manager/ Product Engineering, August 2015 – December 2016

- Recruited to provide body/door structure design engineering support and direction. Emphasis on structures/latches and complex mechanisms. The position was expanded to additionally support the seat development product design team which was over 6 months behind in the release timing.

-Provide design & engineering support to the seat development team in Germany responsible for the seat design – directing the design and development team (6 designers) – bringing the product timing back in line.

-Requested to support purchasing to provide pre-sourcing packages to select production suppliers for North American Manufacturing and evaluate the BOM.

-Manage suppliers with current PO’s – working with sales/purchasing to establish better pricing and delivery of supplier parts, helping drive down costs and effectively produce parts in time for delivery to the clients. Track and support Prototype builds.

Johnson Controls Incorporated, Plymouth, MI

Project Engineer Manager, June 2010 – May 2015

-Provide engineering support to the seat manufacturing and assembly plants for current production programs. Allowing JCI to continue to provide the state-of-the-art parts to our OEM clients.

-Investigate and implement ways to reduce scrap and quality concerns at the manufacturing plants. Updating current designs and processes, improving product quality and release times to the clients- effectively saving over $800,00 in lost sales and revenue.

-The implementation of cost saving measures resulting in savings of 200K/MO. Provide presentations and reports for high level managers.

Dura Automotive Systems, Rochester Hills, MI

Technical Specialist/Program Manager, June 1996 – May 2009

-Responsible for the managing the design, development and launch of the GM T966 2nd & 3rd row & Ford 387/8 1st row seats and door structure interface.

-Design manager of the CAD design and engineering team for seat mechanisms for all three rows of the Ford Windstar. (PDGS, Catia V5, & NXII & MS Office.

-Design manager of the CAD design and engineering team to launch 2nd & 3rd row seat mechanisms for General Motors Lambda platform, body structures and door assembly/latch group.

-Provided engineering and quality support for production at JIT and Final assembly at all GM and Ford plants.

Magna Corporation – Closures, Livonia, MI

Design Manager, June 1994 – May 1996

-Led the design team (9 plus designers) for power sliding door and power assisted latching systems and body/door structure engineering interface.

-Primary engineering contact Between Ford and Magna engineering, per Ford engineering’s request (PDGS, MS Office)

-Led a team of 9 designers responsible for various side door latching programs, including the Ford Power Sliding Door.

-Per Customer’s request I represented Magna at the weekly engineering and design review at Ford Motor Company.

Masco-Tech Engineering Incorporated, Dearborn, MI

Senior Product Designer, April 1993 – May 1994

-Responsible for the design and release of Ford’s HN80-3 side air intake, hood and rear structure and all related components.

-Static and dynamic design studies to verify clearance and function of new design. (PDGS)

-Hired for the new Jaguar line for Ford Motor Co., was assigned to the Ford HN-80 hood and air intake system until Jaguar business was

awarded, Masco-Tech was never awarded the business, left following the Ford HN-80 launch.

Pioneer Engineering Incorporated, Dearborn, MI

Senior Product Designer, November 1992 – March 1993

-Review design issues for multiple Ford programs, propose design revisions and update and release drawings into WERS system.

TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Incorporated, Washington, MI

Product Engineer, February 1989 – November 1992

-Responsible for the design and development of a passive restraint system for the Ford Villager and Nissan Quest.

-Responsible for the design and packaging restraints, consisting of many simple and complex injection molded components.

-Patented cinch mechanism for Corvette, Early integrated child seat and adjustable ‘D’ Ring.

Ford – New Holland – North American Group, Troy, MI

Senior Product Designer, February 1987 – November 1988

-Interior cab design, plus redesign of the existing throttle control to accommodate new console, improve performance and ergonomics.

-Design and developed an internal transmission oiling system for Ford sixteen speed transmission, which had an external system (CALMA, PDGS)

Vickers Incorporated, Troy, MI

Product Designer, June 1979 – December 1986

-Generate hydraulic pumps and valves with electrical schematic proposals for new applications on heavy equipment. (CALMA)

EDUCATION

University of Michigan – Dearborn, MI 1980 - 1984

BSME

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