Promoting from within

After serving a three-year term as Vice President-Automotive, Rich Schaum, Chrysler's former product development chief becomes the new face of SAE International.

As a former Executive Vice President at Chrysler who oversaw 9000 employees and a budget of $1.8 billion and previously led teams responsible for the development and launch of the Dodge Dakota and Ram, and various Jeep and Chrysler vehicles, it is fair to say that leadership is not something that is new to Richard Schaum, SAE International President for 2007. In fact, leadership within SAE is not unfamiliar to Schaum, having just wrapped up a three-year term as Vice President-Automotive. That experience will no doubt serve him well as he steps in to serve as SAE's foremost representative.

An SAE member for close to 30 years, Schaum first became familiar with the society as a young engineer through the Detroit Section's technical series and later served on the Fuels & Lubricants and Truck & Bus committees and Chaired the 2003 SAE World Congress. However, it was not until he served as Vice President of the automotive sector and a Board member that he truly began to understand the depth and breadth of SAE.