Mr. Rossiter was Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. Mr. Rossiter served as president since August 2007, Chief Executive Officer since October 2000, as President from 1984 until December 2002 and as Chief Operating Officer from 1988 until April 1997 and from November 1998 until October 2000. Mr. Rossiter also served as Chief Operating Officer -- International Operations from April 1997 until November 1998. Mr. Rossiter has been a director of Lear since 1988. Rossiter joined the company in 1971 as a production scheduler for what was then known as Lear Siegler Seating Corp. He spent the following 17 years working his way up the company ladder until he and 29 other executives leveraged a buyout of the company, creating Lear Corp. Rossiter took out a second mortgage on his home in order to do so. Lear went public in 1994 and grew at a rapid clip throughout the decade, becoming one of the largest suppliers in the world. Rossiter was named CEO in 2000, succeeding Ken Way, who hired him. Rossiter left in 2011 as one of the most-respected — and highest-paid — executives in the industry, leaving Lear and Simoncini with a solid balance sheet and business.