Dr. Ken Washington is chief technology officer, Ford Motor Company, and part of the enterprise leadership team reporting to Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer. In this role, Washington leads Ford’s global research organization, overseeing the development and implementation of the company’s technology strategy. His responsibilities include Ford’s next-generation vehicle electrical architectures; sensing and computing stacks; energy, propulsion, and sustainability; advanced materials and manufacturing; and controls and automated systems. He also leads Ford’s STEM and University research programs.

Prior to joining Ford, he was vice president of the Advanced Technology Center at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, and was responsible for leading a team of scientists and engineers in performing research and development in space science and related R&D.

Previously, he served as Lockheed Martin Corporation’s first chief privacy officer, a role in which he built the company’s privacy program, set the privacy strategy direction and established a team of privacy professionals to execute the strategy.

Washington also previously served as the vice president and chief technology officer for the Lockheed Martin IT organization, where he was responsible for shaping the future of the corporation’s information technology enterprise.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin in February 2007, Washington served as chief information officer for Sandia National Laboratories, where he previously held various other technical leadership and engineering positions.

He has a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degree in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University, serves on the board of directors for McKesson Corporation, and is a fellow of the MIT Seminar XXI program on International Relations. Washington was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2020.

Pamela Fletcher (Pam) has been the Vice President of Global Innovation since 2018. Global Innovation is on a mission to turn high potential innovative ideas into scalable business ventures that drive growth and transform the GM business model beyond traditional automotive.

Fletcher’s experience is broad and global. For more than a decade, she has been in leadership roles guiding the development of GM’s electric vehicle and self-driving portfolio and technologies, most recently as Vice President-Global Electric Vehicles.

Her teams were responsible for developing several of GM’s most awarded vehicles, including two generations of the Chevrolet Volt, and the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the industry’s first mass-market, long- range, affordable electric vehicle. Her team also led the development of Super Cruise, the industry’s first hands-free highway driver assist system as well as three generations of Cruise AVs.

Fletcher earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in engineering. She serves as a corporate director of Coherent Inc. (COHR), a NASDAQ-listed company based in Silicon Valley, and is also a board member of GM Defense LLC. She continued her education with the Executive Development Program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Stanford Graduate School of Business Transformational Leadership Program and the Harvard Women on Boards Program.

Fletcher was named to Motor Trend’s 2018 and 2019 Power List of auto industry leaders and was one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People” of 2017. She serves on the Board of Advisors for the College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina Charlotte.

José Muñoz is the Global Chief Operating Officer of Hyundai Motor Company and the president and CEO of both Hyundai Motor North America and Hyundai Motor America. In this capacity, Muñoz is responsible for global operations strategies and their successful implementation, delivering profitable growth and improving the overall performance of Hyundai Motor Company.

Muñoz also oversees the entire American market, including Hyundai Motor North, Central and South America, as the head of the Hyundai Motor Americas Region. Muñoz is based in Hyundai’s U.S. headquarters in Fountain Valley, California.

Prior to joining Hyundai, Muñoz was most recently the Chief Performance Officer for Nissan Motor Corporation and the Chairman of Nissan China. He joined Nissan in 2004 and during his 15 years at the automaker led significant growth and record sales in the regions he managed. Muñoz is a native of Spain and earned his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Polytechnic University of Madrid and has an MBA from Instituto de Empresa (IE) Business School in Madrid. He has also completed executive management programs from Cranfield School of Management in the U.K. and INSEAD Business School in France. He is fluent in English, Spanish and French. 

Dr. Gill Pratt is the Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Research Institute (TRI), where he directs research to create new capabilities for Toyota in Active Safety, Automated Driving, Robotics, and other Human Amplification technologies. He also serves in a global role guiding Toyota’s research strategy as Chief Scientist and Executive Fellow for Research of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Executive Advisor of Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc. (TCRDL), both in Japan. Prior to joining TRI as its founding CEO in January 2016, Dr. Pratt served as an Executive Technical Advisor to Toyota Motor Corporation.

Dr. Pratt previously led the Robotics Challenge, Robotics Research, and Neuromorphic Computing research programs for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he served as a program manager in the Defense Sciences and Tactical Technology Offices from January 2010 through August 2015.

Dr. Pratt was an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Leg Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Subsequently, he was a founding Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Research at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. Dr. Pratt’s academic research focused on robotics and intelligent systems. Specific areas of interest included interfaces that significantly enhance human/machine collaboration, mechanisms and control methods for enhanced mobility and manipulation, low impedance actuators, the application of neuroscience techniques to robot perception and control, and the impact of Robotics and AI on society. Dr. Pratt holds several patents in series elastic actuation and adaptive control.

Dr. Pratt earned Doctor of Philosophy (1990), Master of Science (1987), and Bachelor of Science (1983) degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. His Ph.D. thesis was in the field of spiking computation in natural and artificial neural systems. Dr. Pratt also worked for the Physics and Computer Science Research Departments of Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

Graduate from Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers and with a Master’s degree in applied mechanics, Carla Gohin began her career at PSA Peugeot Citroën in 1999 as a cost optimisation manager.

Between 2002 and 2010, she was in charge of various developments in the powertrain adaptations perimeter.

In 2010, she was given responsibility for the technical coordination of the Group’s Research & Development Department.

In 2014, Ms Gohin was appointed Executive Assistant to Carlos Tavares, Chairman of PSA Peugeot Citroen Managing Board.

Stefan Gudmundsson, Karma’s Chief Innovation Officer, is an accomplished executive from the connected automotive space. At Karma, Gudmundsson’s extensive international experience in connected car, infotainment and telematics plays a vital role in developing the company’s competitive roadmap; identifying strategic partners, innovative approaches and new product breakthroughs to help maximize Karma’s market potential.

Prior to joining Karma, Gudmundsson served as Senior Principal/Director, Global Automotive Market Development and Product Strategy at u-blox, a creator of wireless semiconductors and modules, where he brought strategic innovation to its product lines, Director of Technology & Operations at Hyundai AutoEver Telematics America, Project Management at Volvo’s WirelessCar, and Vice President, Technology at DRI Corporation.

Gudmundsson earned a Master of Science in Computer Science & Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. He is also a frequent connected car, telematics and M2M global speaker and writer, and holds multiple international patents in telematics.

Urska Skrt is a Manager for Mobility at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). She contributes to the Transforming Urban Mobility agenda by leading the project of mobility decarbonization with an ambitious objective to unlock the value of vehicle fleet electrification that resides at the intersection of mobility, real estate and energy.

Urska has extensive experience in the area of smart energy demand response, smart cities and vehicle electrification and was a member of several European private public partnerships. Among other, she was an Industry board member of European Green Vehicle Initiative (EGVI).

LinkedIn: Urška Skrt | LinkedIn

Twitter: WBCSD (@wbcsd) / Twitter

Oliver is the VP of Product at Cruise. Cruise is building the world’s most advanced self-driving vehicles to safely connect people with the places, things, and experiences they care about. Prior to Cruise, Oliver was the co-founder and CEO of Voyage, which developed and deployed self-driving cars designed for senior citizens who struggled to drive. Cruise acquired Voyage in March 2021.

Paul Rivera joined Electra Meccanica as Chief Executive Officer in August 2019. Before joining Electra Meccanica, Rivera most recently served as President of Ricardo, USA, a division of Ricardo, PLC (LON: RCDO), a 100-year-old global engineering, strategic, and environmental consultancy business with a value chain that includes the design, engineering, testing, and product launch, of vehicle systems, as well as the niche manufacture of high performance products. Previous to that, as Executive VP of Hybrid & Electric Systems at Ricardo, Rivera led the company’s evolution towards an efficient and sustainable low carbon future. Ricardo's engineering and design solutions have had a significant impact on technical developments throughout the auto sector, providing innovative solutions across engines, drivelines and hybrid systems, as well as supporting the development of emerging technologies such as autonomous and connected vehicles. Rivera brings more than two decades of experience in technical consulting, engineering services, general management, global business development, and a deep understanding of engineering in the automotive, transport, and energy industries to Electra Meccanica.

Mark R. Rosekind, Ph.D., is a passionate safety professional with more than 30 years of experience promoting innovation through science and leadership in complex environments. In April 2017, Dr. Rosekind joined the executive team at Zoox as the Chief Safety Innovation Officer. He leads efforts to safely develop, test, and deploy autonomous vehicles. In September 2020, he was appointed the Distinguished Policy Scholar in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prior to Zoox, Dr. Rosekind was appointed by President Obama to be the 15th Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Serving from 2014 to 2017, Dr. Rosekind led significant transformation, instilling a proactive safety culture while driving both the Agency and automobile industry to be future-oriented. His initiatives included the development and issuance of the first-ever Federal Automated Vehicles Policy, the founding of the Road to Zero coalition to develop a 30-year plan to eliminate traffic fatalities, and aggressive oversight of safety in the automobile industry, including leading the Agency through the nation’s largest product safety recall in U.S history. Before becoming NHTSA Administrator, Dr. Rosekind was appointed by President Obama and served as the 40th member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) from 2010 to 2014. Dr. Rosekind earned his B.A. with honors from Stanford University, his M.S., M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Yale University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Brown University Medical School.

Chet is vice president of Arm’s automotive business, leading a team focused on delivering the safe, scalable technology required for current and next-generation automotive applications that are redefining the future of mobility, including powertrain, digital cockpit, advanced driver assistance (ADAS) and autonomous driving. In his role, Chet and his team work closely with automotive partners from across the ecosystem, including OEM carmakers, tier 1 subsystem integrators, silicon providers, and software and tools suppliers, to ensure Arm is developing solutions that meet the changing requirements of this rapidly evolving market.

Chet joined Arm in 2017, and before focusing on automotive he led Arm’s security and cellular IoT initiatives. Prior to Arm, Chet was at MediaTek, where led the EMEA business development, sales, and customer support teams, and also established MediaTek’s first steps into the European automotive industry. Chet has worked in the semiconductor industry for over 25 years in a variety of technical and commercial roles, starting his career as an RF and analog chip designer. Chet has also advised the UK government on its ICT trade and investment strategy.

Mahmoud Samara, is the Vice President, Cadillac North America Sales, Service and Marketing. In this new role Mahmoud is responsible for Cadillac sales, service and retail marketing for North American markets and has global responsibility for Dealer Network Development. Mahmoud reports to Rory Harvey, Vice President, Global Cadillac.

Mahmoud contributes over 16 years of GM global and cross functional experience in areas of Sales, Marketing, Aftersales, Manufacturing, and Customer Experience. Mahmoud’s Previous roles include Global Director, Customer Experience (CX) responsible for leading CX transformation strategies for digital and dealer customer experiences, Cadillac Regional Director responsible for sales , service and retail marking in Western Region, Managing Director for Cadillac Canada responsible for all overall Cadillac operations, along with various leadership roles in manufacturing at the Oshawa Assembly Plant as well as sales and marketing roles in the Middle East & Africa.

Under Mahmoud’s leadership, the Cadillac Canada team delivered record sales results as well as employee and dealer engagement scores. He was instrumental in building a solid Cadillac dealer network foundation and brought stability to US Western Region, as well as he successfully developed and executed a CX digital retailing strategy.

Mahmoud earned a Master of Business Administration from Findlay University in Ohio and a Bachelor Degree in International Business from the University of Toledo in Ohio. He also undertook Transformational Leadership and Design Thinking at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Anupam Malhotra (pom) is Director for Connected Vehicles and Data at Audi of America. He is responsible for the business and operational growth of Audi’s connected services offerings and the development of the company’s digitalization and data portfolio for connected cars. Pom has built Audi’s leadership in the connected vehicle space with the introduction of several technology-forward industry-firsts in Infotainment, Telematics, V2X, and EV services that elevate the experience customers expect from a premium brand. He also leads the development of innovative revenue models leveraging Audi's connected car strengths and plays a key role in guiding the strategic direction of the company towards automated vehicles. Pom joined Audi in 2010 from General Motors where he was the head of location based services for the company’s OnStar brand and helped expand the company into global markets. In his more than 25 years in the automotive industry, Pom has focused his efforts at the intersection of business and technology and continues to work on realizing Audi’s vision of the future of mobility.

David L. Harkey is president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute.

Before taking the helm at IIHS-HLDI in 2018, Dr. Harkey, an engineer by training, led the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center for 11 years. There he directed numerous projects to develop tools and strategies for enhanced safety analysis, improve safety data for researchers and decision makers, and develop training materials for safety practitioners.

Dr. Harkey's own research has focused on improving roadway design and operations for all users, including motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. He has led major research programs and projects for the Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other public agencies throughout his career and published numerous technical reports and peer-reviewed articles on road safety.

Dr. Harkey received a doctorate in civil engineering from North Carolina State University and a master's degree and bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the Transportation Research Board and the Institute for Transportation Engineers.

Barry Napier is CEO and Chairman at Cubic Telecom. He is responsible for setting the corporate strategy, as well as day-to-day leadership, investor relations, M&A, and strategic partnerships.

Under Barry’s leadership at Cubic Telecom for more than a decade, the company has secured over €110 million in funding, grown to 180+ staff, and partnered with the biggest automotive OEMs around the globe.

Barry has extensive experience and a proven track record in building innovative technology companies, growing revenue and market share, along with a history in leveraged buyouts, VC fund-raising and growth acquisition strategies.

Prior to Cubic, Barry led the acquisition of the Nasdaq listed Brightpoint Inc (Brightpoint Ireland) at the end of 2003 where he steered the company from 15 staff/ $35 million revenue p/a to over 80 staff/$200 million revenue p/a in 2009.

Barry also holds board seats on a range of high-growth companies and was recently selected to be the first Irish entrepreneur on the Endeavour Leadership Program.

Jiajun Zhu is the CEO and co-founder of Nuro. Prior to founding Nuro, Jiajun was a principal software engineer of Google and one of the founding team members of the company’s self-driving car project (now known as Waymo). In addition to leading the project’s perception team, he also helped build and lead their simulation efforts. Jiajun earned both his Master's and Bachelor’s degrees in computer science from the University of Virginia and Fudan University respectively.

Ian started his career in 1997, in chip design of wireless technologies, after 7 years of military service in the Israeli Navy. Afterwards, he led a chip design group and worked as Project and Program Manager in the Intel WiMAX division, leading products and customer engagements. In 2009 he was promoted to Head of Program Office, #2 in the WiMAX division, and later Biz-Dev, where his line of work involved seeking new partnerships, investments and M&A. In 2016 he joined Vayyar, focusing on the automotive, robotics, safety (industry 4.0) and mobility markets. As VP and Head of Automotive, Ian oversees partnerships with industry leaders in all of these markets and helps integrate Vayyar technology into their products, solutions and services.

Robin Milavec, Executive Board Director, Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), is responsible for integrating corporate strategy, driving product and process innovation and positioning Nexteer as a technology leader with new market opportunities. This includes overseeing Nexteer’s Global Engineering including research & development, technology, product portfolio and production support. He is a member of Nexteer’s Global Strategy Council.

Milavec has 32 years of automotive experience and has served Nexteer in various positions over his career.  These include Quality Manager, Chief Manufacturing Engineer-Driveline, Chief Product Engineer-EPS, Sr. Executive Director of Global Product Engineering, and most recently, Vice President of Global Engineering.

Milavec holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from New Mexico State University and a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan.

As vice president and general manager at UL, Mary Joyce is responsible for overseeing Automotive and Mobility services. She brings more than 25 years of technical and entrepreneurial experience within the transportation sector to UL. Her experience and leadership have been focused on developing and delivering technology-driven business services and solutions, providing outstanding client service, and driving profitable revenue growth.

Prior to joining UL, Joyce was the Vice President of Transportation Testing Services at SGS, a global Testing, Inspection and Certification company. Joyce spent more than 20 years at Automotive OEM’s including FCA, Daimler Chrysler and Chrysler Corporation where she served in a variety of management roles within Powertrain, ADAS, Telematics, Cybersecurity, Electronics, Electrification and Operations.

Ms. Joyce is a recipient of fourteen US Patents in the areas of Alternate Propulsion, Electronics and Control’s theory. She is the recipient of the Walter P. Chrysler award, the highest technological award given at Chrysler. In addition to her OEM and TIC experience, Ms. Joyce founded Nicayla Enterprises, a Cloud-based Application Development company in 2002. She served as the CEO at this company until 2013.

Ms. Joyce holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, a bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering and an MBA with concentration in International business. She is regularly involved in consortiums and conferences as a panel member or speaker emphasizing the need for safety and security as we deploy new technology in the industry.

Aaron is an experienced global automotive executive with a unique blend of engineering, business development, product management and strategy experiences. With a career spanning over 20 years, Aaron has been at the forefront of delivering new technologies from electrification and power electronics to ADAS and automated driving systems; most recently leading the product strategy and ADAS product growth at ZF Friedrichshafen. Prior to joining ZF, Aaron spent over 15 years at Delphi (now Aptiv) and was responsible for establishing the ADAS product management and strategy process which led to a revamped product portfolio and a book of business wins exceeding $2 billion year-over-year. Aaron holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

Patrik Björler has been working in the automotive and telecom business for more than 25 years. After he graduated from Chalmers in 1994, he started his professional carries as engineer at Volvo Group (the manufacturer of trucks and buses, excavators, and marine engines) developing electronics & software, as well as leading development projects for electric- and hybrid buses/trucks. Patrik soon moved into the field of Industrial Marketing & Strategy and he has held several senior positions at Volvo Group, Ericsson, Cybercom and Volvo Cars. Today, Patrik is responsible for developing and set the strategy & business for Autonomous Driving at Volvo Cars. He is passionate about working in a company that is paving the new future in automotive, challenging status quo and creating a better sustainable world for the next generation.

Dr. Flament represents 5GAA, the global cross-industry association for the development of connected and automated cars, where he works as Chief Technology Officer since April 2018. Maxime was working previously as Head of Department for Connected & Automated Driving (CAD) at ERTICO – ITS Europe, the European association promoting research and deployment on Intelligent Transportation Systems. For 15 years, he has been a leading contributor to many European activities on road safety, connected vehicles, automated driving, large-scale pilots, and digital mapping. Maxime holds a Ph.D. E.E. (2002) and M.Sc. E.E. (1997) from Chalmers Technical University, Sweden. He also holds an “Ingénieur Civil” degree from the Free university of Brussels (1997). In 2001, he was visiting researcher at Stanford University, CA, USA.