ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Affinia Group has named Rick Pizarek as vice president, global chassis, reporting to David Overbeeke, president of Affinia Global Brake & Chassis.

For the past three years, Pizarek has served as vice president and general manager of Asia Operations for Affinia’s Global Brake & Chassis Group. Based in Shanghai, Pizarek led Affinia’s under vehicle business activities throughout Asia.

“Affinia is committed to serving our customers as a World Smart company, providing the highest quality replacement products at globally competitive prices,” Overbeeke said. “Rick has cultivated close business relationships with our Asian joint venture partners, global suppliers and other stakeholders, all essential to assuring that we continue to fulfill our mission.”

In his new position, Pizarek is based in McHenry, Ill., and assigned strategic responsibility for Affinia's Global Chassis business. Primary objectives include Affinia’s rapid growth globally in the chassis market and the continual expansion of product line coverage with a particular emphasis on foreign nameplates.

During his career, Pizarek has served as division manager for Affinia’s McHenry, Ill., manufacturing operation and director of manufacturing for the Drum, Rotor and Foundry Group. Previously, he served with Allied Signal for 16 years in a variety of management positions, from sales and marketing to engineering and operations.

He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Indiana University. Pizarek has been a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers for more than 30 years and is active in a number of community organizations. 

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