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News Release

Last modified: Thursday, July 21, 2011

Kathleen Ligocki's biography

July 21, 2011

Kathleen Ligocki, chief executive officer of Next Autoworks Company in San Diego, Calif., has been elected to the Indiana University Foundation Board of Directors.

"We are pleased that Kathleen has agreed to serve as a director," said Foundation President Gene Tempel. "With her great success in the auto industry and her commitment to women's leadership and lifelong education, she brings a valuable perspective to our Foundation's board."

Ligocki was named CEO of Next Autoworks in October 2010. Next Autoworks is an alternative auto company whose investors include Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and T. Boone Pickens. Ligocki has worked in the auto industry for more than three decades, starting with a job as a line foreman at the GM plant in Kokomo. Prior to joining Next Autoworks, Ligocki was CEO of the Mexico-based GS Motors and CEO of Tower Automotive. She has also worked for Ford Motor Company, United Technologies Corporation and General Motors.

Ligocki holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies from IU Kokomo, an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, and honorary doctorates from IU Kokomo and Central Michigan University. In addition to serving on the Next Autoworks Board of Directors, Ligocki serves on the Ashland, Inc. Board of Directors, the OxiCool, Inc. Advisory Board, and a number of nonprofit and academic boards focused on women, families and lifelong education.

Ligocki is an honorary life member of the IU Alumni Association, Southeast Michigan Chapter, and was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2009. She speaks Spanish fluently and travelled to Mexico on an archaeological dig after college; later, she funded the Kathleen Ligocki International Studies Travel Program to afford similar opportunities to IU Kokomo students. She also serves as a mentor in the Innovation Symposium, a course for outstanding students at IU Kokomo.

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