Covisint boss bullish about the future

The new chief executive of Covisint, the online marketplace for the automotive industry, has made a bullish statement about the future of his business, despite the general malaise of the economy.

Set up by Ford, DaimlerChrysler and General Motors to smooth out kinks in their supply chain, Covisint is a flagship of the business-to-business ecommerce sector.

However, following delays in the appointment of a CEO, and the downturn in the e-commerce sector, the company has been subject to speculation about its future.

Kevin English, who was appointed as Covisint's president and chief executive in April, made his optimistic statement at a meeting of auto industry executives, according to Reuters. "It's true that many so-called dot-com companies bit the dust in the past 18 months," he said.
"Covisint is not like those companies. Covisint isn't a dot-com. Covisint is a business. Not only will it last, it will thrive and succeed," he said.