GlobeNewswire Inc | Oct 20, 2020 05:30AM EDT

October 20, 2020

-- Kotagiri, current Magna President and 21-year company veteran, to succeed Don Walker -- Walker to retire at end of 2020 after 15 consecutive years as CEO, 33 years with Magna -- Media conference call to be held today, October 20, at 8 a.m. EDT

AURORA, Ontario, Oct. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Magna announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Seetarama (Swamy) Kotagiri as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2021. Don Walker, who served as CEO between 1994 and 2001, and since 2005, will retire at the end of 2020. In his 33-year career at Magna, Walker served in various leadership roles including Vice President Product Development and Engineering, Chief Operating Officer and President, in addition to Chief Executive Officer of former Magna spinco, Intier Automotive Inc. between 2001 and 2005.

Given Swamys role in aligning the companys strategy with the megatrends impacting new mobility and the car of the future, he is the right leader to take Magna forward, said William L. Young, Chairman of Magnas Board of Directors. Swamy has a strong command of the business, sound judgment, and is a strategic thinker who can drive disciplined execution. Ive been impressed by Swamys ability to inspire people to think innovatively and deliver their best work to benefit Magnas customers. Swamy also has an innate leadership quality of being able to take complex problems and break them down so that people can understand and solve them.

"I would also like to commend Don for his success and thank him for his dedicated service, Young added. Under his strong leadership, Magna has grown to be the third-largest global automotive supplier, one of Fortunes Worlds Most Admired Companies, and a perennial winner of customer, industry and technology awards.

Leading Magna and working with all our great employees has been a tremendous honor and I am extremely proud of everything we have accomplished together, stated Don Walker, current Magna CEO. In addition to Swamys strong technical and operational strengths, he has played an integral role in advancing the companys position in the changing mobility landscape and encouraging a start-up mindset to solve problems with solutions from outside our industry. I am confident in Swamys future-focused approach and leadership to move Magna forward into the next decade and beyond.

Building on Magnas industry leadership is very important to me. It starts with our people, who are among the most talented in the business. We will leverage the companys decentralized, entrepreneurial culture, which empowers every member of the Magna family to act as an owner and think as if they were part of a start-up, said Swamy Kotagiri, current Magna President and incoming CEO. With the next transformation in mobility upon us, Magna can build on its current position of strength, derived from leading capabilities across key areas of the vehicle, financial stability and strong leadership. The evolution of the mobility ecosystem presents a range of opportunities directly related to Magnas strengths. I look forward to leading our team and working with all of our stakeholders as we seek to create sustainable value from those opportunities.

Kotagiri has more than 25 years of automotive industry experience, 21 of which have been with Magna. In his previous role as Magnas Chief Technology Officer (CTO), the company further strengthened its culture of innovation by forming partnerships in areas including autonomy, electrification, electronics and connectivity. Kotagiri was responsible for managing the companys innovation and new product strategy and development both at a corporate level and in conjunction with Magnas product groups. While CTO, he also served in various leadership positions including President of Magna Electronics, Magna Powertrain and the companys Power and Vision segment. Early in his Magna career, he also held various engineering and operating positions at Cosma International, a Magna operating unit. Kotagiri holds a masters degree in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University with a specialization in materials and structural engineering.

Kotagiris appointment demonstrates the effectiveness of Magnas robust leadership development and succession planning processes, which have facilitated seamless transitions in 10 of the companys most senior leadership roles in the last three years.

TAGSLeadership change, CEO transition, Tenure

MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL DETAILSA media conference call will be held at 8 a.m. EDT for 60 minutes, includingtime for Q&A. To join the call, please dial the phone number five minutes priorto the start of the conference call and provide the confirmation number:49989733Dial-In: 1 (866)-215-5508 Canada Toll Free 1 (514)-841-2157 Canada Toll 1 (888)-771-4371 US Toll Free 1 (847)-585-4405 US Toll

For a current list of available local and international freephone telephone numbers,CLICK HERE

INVESTOR CONTACTLouis Tonelli, Vice President, Investor Relations louis.tonelli@magna.com, 905.726.7035

MEDIA CONTACT Tracy Fuerst, Vice President, Global Corporate Communications & PRtracy.fuerst@magna.com, 248.761.7004

ABOUT MAGNA We are a mobility technology company. We have more than 152,000 entrepreneurial-minded employees and 346 manufacturing operations and 93 product development, engineering and sales centres in 27 countries. We have complete vehicle engineering and contract manufacturing expertise, as well as product capabilities which include body, chassis, exterior, seating, powertrain, active driver assistance, electronics, mechatronics, mirrors, lighting and roof systems. Magna also has electronic and software capabilities across many of these areas. Our common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (MG) and the New York Stock Exchange (MGA). For further information about Magna, visit www.magna.com.

THIS RELEASE MAY CONTAIN STATEMENTS WHICH CONSTITUTE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS UNDER APPLICABLE SECURITIES LEGISLATION AND ARE SUBJECT TO, AND EXPRESSLY QUALIFIED BY, THE CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMERS THAT ARE SET OUT IN MAGNAS REGULATORY FILINGS. PLEASE REFER TO MAGNAS MOST CURRENT MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL POSITION, ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM AND ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 40-F, AS REPLACED OR UPDATED BY ANY OF MAGNAS SUBSEQUENT REGULATORY FILINGS, WHICH SET OUT THE CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMERS, INCLUDING THE RISK FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL EVENTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE INDICATED BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. THESE DOCUMENTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW ON MAGNAS WEBSITE ATWWW.MAGNA.COM.

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