Kutner, Brady to be Honored by UB School of Management

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Harold R. Kutner, vice president for worldwide purchasing at General Motors Corp., and Robert T. Brady, chairman and CEO of Moog Inc., will be honored by the UB School of Management at its annual alumni association awards banquet Nov. 9.

The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

Kutner will receive the school's first-ever Alumni of the Year award, presented for career achievements that have significantly and positively impacted his business and industry.

Brady will be the 51st recipient of the Niagara Frontier Executive of the Year Award, which honors a resident of the Niagara Frontier who has distinguished himself or herself in a career marked by executive success, a proven willingness to assume a leadership role in civic affairs and a demonstration of high personal integrity.

Past honorees include Robert E. Rich Sr., Paul L. Snyder, Robert E. Rich Jr., Jeremy M. Jacobs Sr., Sal H. Alfiero and Reginald B. Newman II. Last year's recipient was Luiz F. Kahl.

As group vice president in charge of worldwide purchasing and North American production control and logistics, Kutner is in charge of GM's business-to-business e-commerce strategy. He led development of the GM TradeXchange, the auto industry's first online commerce site linking carmakers and parts suppliers. He was instrumental in the launch this month of Covisint, an online automotive-parts exchange formed by a strategic alliance between Big Three automakers GM, Ford and Daimler/Chrysler.

Named this year by Business Week as one of the 25 most influential men and women in e-commerce, Kutner is leading development of GM's online "order-to-delivery" system -- targeted for launch in 2003 -- which will enable customers to order customized GM cars for delivery in 10 to 12 days.

A native of Buffalo, he graduated from the School of Management in 1963 and began his GM career that year in the finance department at Harrison Radiator Division in Lockport. Following a number of consecutive appointments and promotions, he became GM's director of materials management in 1981 and later held positions in GM's Chevrolet and Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac divisions. He was elected to his current position at GM in 1994.

Kutner is on the board of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, is a member of the board of directors for Oakland University and is on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan.

Brady began his career at Moog in 1968 as manufacturing manager for the aerospace division. He was named the company's president and chief executive officer in 1988 and was elected chairman in 1996. Under his leadership, Moog's profits have risen every quarter for six straight years since the Elma aerospace company underwent a major restructuring following the sharp drop in defense spending after the end of the Cold War a decade ago.

A Buffalo native, Brady earned a bachelor's degree from MIT and an MBA from the Harvard University Business School. He serves on the board of directors of a number of public corporations, including Seneca Foods, M&T Bank, Acme Electric, the Astronics Corp. and National Fuel Gas Co. He also serves as a trustee for the UB Foundation Inc. and is chairman of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.