Battery maker A123 names new CEO, reorganizes

DETROIT | Thu Oct 10, 2013 11:16am EDT

DETROIT (Reuters) - Electric car battery maker A123 Systems LLC named a new chief executive and outlined its structure as it moves forward after being purchased in bankruptcy by a Chinese company.

The maker of lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars has named Jason Forcier as CEO and a member of the company's board, overseeing all battery and transportation business, product development and manufacturing globally. He had been president of A123's auto business.

A123 filed for bankruptcy last October due to weaker-than-expected demand for hybrid vehicles and technical problems, and the auto-related assets were purchased for $257 million in January by China's largest auto parts maker, Wanxiang Group.

A123, which had been run by board members Pin Ni, president of Wanxiang America, and Tom Corcoran, announced the move on Wednesday.

The company had received a $249 million grant from the U.S. government as part of a clean energy program to build manufacturing facilities in Michigan. About half the money was never released.

A123 makes batteries for BMW (BMWG.DE) hybrid 3- and 5-Series cars, and General Motors Co's (GM.N) all-electric Chevrolet Spark. China's SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS) is also a customer.

Forcier said in January that with Wanxiang's backing, A123 would invest in areas where it sees growth, including batteries for hybrid and microhybrid vehicles. While the auto business was expected to make up half of the company's sales this year, the electric grid unit was expected to become its largest business within the next several years.

Forcier also said in January that A123 hoped to leverage its ties to Wanxiang into more business in China, where it operates through a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp Ltd. (600104.SS)

Under the reorganization, the company said the transportation business retains the A123 Systems brand and Ed Kopkowski was named president of the group. Mujeeb Ijaz was appointed president of A123 Venture Technologies, which operates the company's research arm.

The board also oversees A123 Energy Solutions, which is the business unit focused on grid energy storage and commercial applications, the company said. Bud Collins remains president of that business.

The executive team of A123 will be headquartered at the company's Livonia, Michigan, facility, the company said.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman; editing by Matthew Lewis)

View the original article here

Posted

às 10:12

More Information

Google unveils plans for user names, comments to appear in ads

A Google logo is seen at the entrance to the company's offices in Toronto September 5, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Chris Helgren

By Alexei Oreskovic

SAN FRANCISCO | Fri Oct 11, 2013 3:28pm EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc plans to launch new product-endorsement ads incorporating photos, comments and names of its users, in a move to match the "social" ads pioneered by rival Facebook Inc that is raising some privacy concerns.

The changes, which Google announced in a revised terms of service policy on Friday, set the stage for Google to introduce "shared endorsements" ads on its sites as well as millions of other websites that are part of Google's display advertising network.

The new types of ads would use personal information of the members of Google+, the social network launched by the company in 2011.

If a Google+ user has publicly endorsed a particular brand or product by clicking on the +1 button, that person's image might appear in an ad. Reviews and ratings of restaurants or music that Google+ users share on other Google services, such as in the Google Play online store, would also become fair game for advertisers.

The ads are similar to the social ads on Facebook, the world's No. 1 social network, which has 1.15 billion users.

Those ads are attractive to marketers, but they unfairly commercialize Internet users' images, said Marc Rotenberg, the director of online privacy group EPIC.

"It's a huge privacy problem," said Rotenberg. He said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission should review the policy change to determine whether it violates a 2011 consent order Google entered into which prohibits the company from retroactively changing users' privacy settings.

Users under 18 will be exempt from the ads and Google+ users will have the ability to opt out. But Rotenberg said users "shouldn't have to go back and restore their privacy defaults every time Google makes a change."

Information Google+ users have previously shared with a limited "circle" of friends will remain viewable only to that group, as will any shared endorsement ads that incorporate the information, Google said in a posting on its website explaining the new terms of service.

Google, which makes the vast majority of its revenue from advertising, operates the world's most popular Web search engine as well as other online services such as maps, email and video website YouTube.

The revised terms of service are the latest policy change by Google to raise privacy concerns. Last month, French regulators said they would begin a process to sanction Google for a 2012 change to its policy that allowed the company to combine data collected on individual users across its services, including YouTube, Gmail and social network Google+. Google has said its privacy policy respects European law and is intended to create better services for its users.

Google's latest terms of service change will go live on November 11.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; editing by Gunna Dickson)

View the original article here

Posted

às 07:47

More Information