Efficient & effective Leadership

Frank O. Klegon, a 30-year SAE member and former product development VP at Chrysler, brings ‘customer first’ approach to term as SAE International's chief elective officer.

In an interview in January 2008, prior to serving as General Chair of the SAE 2008 World Congress, Frank O. Klegon, then-Vice President of Product Development at Chrysler, said: “Engineering at the end of the day is not just about designing a part because if you just design a part that nobody can afford, that's really not engineering. Engineering is about designing and being efficient.” Almost exactly four years later, Klegon brings that efficient approach to leadership to his role as 2012 SAE International President.

“We had the big challenges, not just [SAE], but the whole industry had a challenge in 2008-09, and a lot of businesses took a lot of cost out and made a lot of improvements to their business models, and we shouldn't forget that,” Klegon told SOHE, just prior to the start of his term as President. “Just because it's gotten a little bit better, there's still a lot of risk out there, so we need to remain efficient.”