Our Vision, Mission, and Values
BWI Group Leadership Team
This information is confirmed as of September 30, 2023.
George Chang
George Chang
Per Nielsen
Per Nielsen
Leo Lin
Leo Lin
Doug Carson
Doug Carson
Franck Roussel
Franck Roussel
Patrice Colomb
Patrice Colomb
Yongwei Jiang
Yongwei Jiang
Alessandro Manca
Alessandro Manca
Isabella Zhou
Isabella Zhou
George Chang serves as CEO of BWI Group and has responsibility of BWI’s entire global business. He also serves on the board of directors of BWI.
George joined BWI as CEO of BWI Brakes in February 2020 then was appointed CEO of BWI Group in September 2022.
George started his career in the automotive industry in 1989 in Malaysia at a Nissan affiliated company. In 1997 he joined Autoliv where he took various important leadership roles with increased responsibilities, including regional purchasing manager Asia Pacific, president of Autoliv China, president of Autoliv Asia and global president of Autoliv’s Passive Safety Segment.
George earned a bachelor’s degree of Mechanical Engineering in Malaysia and a master’s degree of Business Administration in Scottland.
He received the prestigious Magnolia Award from the Shanghai Municipal Government in 2009 as recognition of his distinguished contribution to local development.
Per Nielsen joined BWI in December 2022 and was appointed as Chief Financial Officer to lead the global Finance function and work closely with the Committees of the Board of Directors in the areas of internal audit, risk management and compliance. In addition, he also takes the overall leadership of the global IT function.
Per started his career with KPMG in Denmark as external auditor then moved to Korea in 1995 where he worked for MD Foods, finally as CFO and CEO. He started his career in the automotive industry in 2002 as Vice President Finance Korea at ZF Sachs. Per joined Autoliv in 2005 and took increased leadership responsibilities including Vice President Finance Korea, Vice President Finance Asia Pacific, Vice President Finance Global Passive Safety Segment and Vice President Finance Europe. Before joining BWI, he worked as CFO EMEA at Yazaki.
Per earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master of Business Management.
Leo Lin was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, BWI Group in September 2022 to lead the global Human Resources function and internal communications.
Leo started his career in HR in 1999 as plant HR Manager at ArvinMeritor in China then took progressively increased roles as country HR Manager of China, North Asia HR Manager, regional HR Director Asia Pacific with ArvinMeritor, regional HR Director Asia Pacific at EMCON then PPG. In 2015, Leo was relocated to PPG’s global headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was assigned as global executive HR leader for multiple Strategic Business Units and Corporate Functions. In 2019, he joined Honeywell as Senior Global HR Director at its global headquarters office in Morris Plain, New Jersey. Since May 2022, he has been engaged as global Human Resources Consultant to the Chairman of BWI.
Leo earned a Bachelor’s degree of automotive engineering and a Master of Business Management.
Doug Carson was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer in September 2022. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of global product engineering and coleads the technical council of BWI Group.
Doug began his career in 1988 as an engineer for the Delco Moraine Brake Division of General Motors working in Milford and Brighton, MI. In 2005 Doug started an assignment in Paris, France as the European chief engineer for brake and suspension system engineering. After 3 years in France he relocated to Dayton, OH with responsibility for global suspension system engineering. He then took all engineering responsibilities in 2018, moved to corporate strategic planning, business and product development roles in2019 and was appointed Vice President Operations in 2020 before moving to his current assignment.
Doug earned his bachelor degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a master degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University. He has also completed the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) executive development program.
He has 8 patents and multiple top-tier awards from General Motors and Delphi and was inducted into Delphi’s Inventor Hall of Fame.
Franck Roussel joined BWI as General Manager North America in May 2023 then was appointed President North America in September 2023.
Franck started his early career as Production Manager then Quality and EHS (Safety, Health and Environment) manager with a UTC company in France. He joined Autoliv in 1994 and took various management roles with increased leadership responsibilities, including Commodity and Project Buyer in France, Logistics and Purchasing Manager then Plant Manager in Turkey, General Manager Steering Wheel China, Managing Director Autoliv China Inflator and Autoliv China Steering Wheel, Managing Director Autoliv Shanghai, Vice President Operations Autoliv Asia, Acting President Autoliv Europe, Vice President Special Projects and Vice President Global Operations Steering Wheels. In 2021 he joined GKN Automotive as Vice President, ePowertrain.
Franck earned a Master’s degree in Engineering.
Patrice Colomb joined BWI in December 2022 as President Europe and Senior Vice President Global Supply Chain Management. In addition, he oversees global program management processes and leads BWI global sustainability initiatives.
Patrice started his career with STMicroelectronics as Engineering Manager in Morocco. He then spent nearly 10 years in consulting with focus on lean manufacturing, supply chain management, and operation strategy. In 2005 he joined Autoliv and held different positions in supply chain management and operations. He started as Supply Chain Director for one product division in Europe. In 2006 he was in Tunisia as General Manager and Country Manager for 4 years. He moved to Turkey in 2010 and took the role of Managing Director and Country Manager. In 2012, he was appointed Vice President Operations Asia for the Seat Belt. In 2014 Patrice took the role of Senior Vice President for Global product line Seat Belt. Before joining BWI, he worked as the global Supply Chain Development Vice President at Autoliv.
Patrice earned a Master of Science in Physics and a Master of Business Administration.
Yongwei Jiang was appointed President, BWI China in September 2022 to provide the overall leadership of driving BWI’s China business strategy and performance.
Yongwei started his career in Dongfeng Motor Group Technical Center and soon became Director of Vehicle Development Platforms in Dongfeng-PSA joint venture. Starting in 2007, he was appointed General Manager’s roles in several different companies, including ThyssenKrupp Metal Forming Wuhan, Ryerson China for the central region, Dongfeng Gefeco and Faurecia Tongda joint ventures. In 2015 he became Operation Director Asia and China President of Faurecia Clean Mobility. Later he took the role of Vice President Operation of Faurecia China in 2019. Since May 2022, he has been engaged as a China Business Consultant for BWI.
Yongwei earned a Bachelor’s degree of Metallurgy Science & Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and a Master of Business Management with Hua Zhong Science and Technology University.
Alessandro Manca joined BWI in May 2023 and was appointed Global Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Business Development.
Alessandro started his career in the automotive industry as Project Engineer with Continental AG then took various roles including project manager, Segment Head, Sales Director and Head of Sales Italy. In 2007, he was promoted as Executive Vice President Global Key Accounts. In 2014, he was assigned to the role of Vice President Business Development and Sales of Continental Intelligent Transportation Systems in San Jose, California. In 2019, he became Vice President, Business Development and Sales at Autobrains AI Technology.
Alessandro earned a Master’s Degree in Mechatronics and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering as well as an Executive MBA.
Isabella Zhou joined BWI in December 2022 as Vice President Legal Affairs to lead the global Legal Affairs function of BWI Group globally.
Isabella started her career in Shanghai Boss and Young Attorneys at Law as paralegal then joined Shanghai Sunwin Bus Corporation as Company Secretary and Legal Counsel. In 2005, she joined Ford Motor (China) as Legal Associate. Later she worked as Legal Counsel Greater China at Swarovski. In 2010, she became Regional Legal Counsel Asia of Rexam Plastic Packaging. Before joining BWI, she worked at Armstrong as Legal Director Asia Pacific.
Isabella earned a Bachelor’s degree of Laws from Ningbo University, China and a Master of Laws from Temple University, USA and Tsinghua University, China. She also earned an EMBA from China European International Business School. She is the member of the California State Bar, USA and the Bar of China.
Our Company History
BWI Group announced on September 19, 2022, that Beijing West Smart Mobility Zhangjiakou Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., led by Zhang Jia Kou Financial Holding Group (ZJKFH) and an assembled syndicate of key investors, has acquired the majority ownership shares in BWI Group.
BWI Group has a rich automotive heritage which began in Dayton, Ohio, USA in 1909. Starting as Dayton Engineering Laboratory Company (Delco), the business created the first reliable electric self-starter for the global automotive market as well as introducing several innovations in automotive lighting, ignition and other products.
Discover our story.
1909 Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (Delco)
To tell our story from the beginning, we must move to Dayton, Ohio, to the early 20th century: July 21, 1909. It was then that two entrepreneurs and inventors, Charles Franklin Kettering and Edwards A. Deeds, formed the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, or Delco, an innovative company that created the first reliable electric self-starter for the automotive market. Delco also introduced innovations in automotive lighting, ignition and many other areas.
1927 Shock Absorbers first produced
In 1927 Delco began manufacturing shock absorbers, and that’s where our chassis technology started. Since then, we’ve developed many other innovative chassis technologies.
Over time many other automotive suspension products were introduced, including suspension struts, air leveling systems, and electronically controlled damping.
1929 Delco Products founded
On January 1,1929 Delco Products was born.
General Motors had purchased the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company in 1920, along with several other companies in the period from 1915-1928. In this same time period, the Dayton facilities were concentrating on the design, manufacture, and marketing of aviation ignition systems, shock absorbers, and fractional horsepower electric motors. Business was rapidly expanding for shock absorbers and electric motors.
1936 Delco Brake founded; Wheel Brakes first produced
Beginning first as a product from within Delco Products in 1934, hydraulic Wheel Brakes for automobiles became a very successful endeavor. In 1936, this business was separated from Delco Products and was established as a new General Motors unit.
1942 Delco Moraine founded
Consolidation of Delco Brake and General Motors Moraine Products Division in August 1942 resulted in Delco Moraine, a company that would later be called, “Brake Capital U.S.A.”
The original Moraine Products first started as a development of the General Motors Research Laboratories in 1923.
Delco Moraine facilities were on Wisconsin Boulevard in Moraine, Ohio, in buildings earlier occupied by Speedwell Motors and the Wright Brothers Airship Company, among others.
1956 “Air Ride” automatic leveling suspension first produced
Continuing its long history of innovation, Delco Products unveiled the world’s first four-corner automatic air suspension. It was first applied to the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado.
Leading up to this time period, Delco Products was recognized as the world’s largest producer of shock absorbers for motor vehicles and fractional horsepower motors. Diesel generators, control devices, springs, and miscellaneous items were also manufactured.
1988 Delco Moraine Anti-Lock Brake Systems (ABS) first produced
In 1988, Delco Moraine produced its first Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS).
Since then, many other ABS generations have followed and have introduced other Brake functionality. The most recognizable functionality is Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
1991 Delco Chassis founded
In the early 1990’s, Delco Products and Delco Moraine merged to create Delco Chassis, a full-service chassis supplier of suspension and brake systems, modules, and components.
Delco Chassis was part of General Motors Automotive Component Group (ACG).
1995 Delphi Automotive Systems founded
General Motor’s Automotive Components Group (ACG) was renamed Delphi Automotive Systems in January 1995. Delco Chassis became Delphi Chassis Systems.
Later, in 1999, Delphi Automotive would be spun off from General Motors Corporation.
2002 MagneRide® first produced
Debuting on the MY2002.5 Cadillac Seville STS and later applied to the 2003 50th Anniversary Chevrolet Corvette, MagneRide begins a long period of application on premium automobiles from many different brands world-wide.
2009 BWI Group founded
On November 1, 2009, BWI Group became the owner of Delphi’s suspension and brake businesses.
2022 BWI 2.0
A new dawn: BWI Group announced on September 19, 2022, that Beijing West Smart Mobility Zhangjiakou Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., led by Zhang Jia Kou Financial Holding Group (ZJKFH) and an assembled syndicate of key investors, had acquired the majority ownership shares in BWI Group.
Our Customers
Our Locations
- Chihuahua, MX
- Greenfield, IN
- Cheb, CZ
- Krosno, PL
- Zhangjiakou, CH
- Fangshan, CH
- Jintan, CH
- Jingsheng, CH
- Xiangtan, CH
- Dayton, OH
- Brighton, MI
- Torino, IT
- Paris, FR
- Kraków, PL
- Shanghai, CH
- Fangshan, CH
- Daqing, CH
- Marquette, MI
- Phoenix, AZ
