Bernhard Maier
CEO, ŠKODA AUTO
Bernhard Maier is a qualified car mechanic and a graduate in business administration. He initially worked as a Key Account Manager at Nixdorf Computer AG and then as a member of the management team at Wallhäuser Anlagen Gesellschaft.
Between 1988 and 2001, he held various executive positions at BMW AG in Germany and abroad, before joining Porsche in 2001 and taking over as CEO of Porsche Deutschland GmbH. From 2010, Maier was the Board Member for Sales and Marketing.
Since November 2015, Bernhard Maier has been CEO of ŠKODA AUTO a.s. and is driving the company’s reorientation under Strategy 2025. In addition to electromobility and digitalisation, key aspects of the Strategy include new mobility services and connectivity, implementing a large-scale product campaign and the brand’s internationalisation. For example, ŠKODA has assumed responsibility for the Indian market and the Russian region on behalf of the Volkswagen Group.
Under his leadership, ŠKODA has also introduced new, important models such as the KODIAQ, KAROQ and KAMIQ SUVs. With over 1.25 million vehicles delivered, 2018 was the most successful year in the company’s history.
Anat Lea Bonshtien
Chairman and Director, Fuel Choices and Smart Mobility Initiative Prime Minister's Office
Dr. Anat Lea Bonshtien serves as the Chairman and Director of the Fuel Choices and Smart Mobility Initiative as of January 2017. Prior to this, she served as the Technology and Regulation Manager of the Initiative. In addition, Dr. Bonshtien serves in the Board of Directors of the Capsula Israeli Smart Transportation Center. She is also a member of the National Science Committee for Energy under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Dr. Bonshtien is a former Mimshak Fellow, a science and policy fellowship program which integrates scientific knowledge with decision making. Dr. Bonshtien holds a MSc and a PhD in Biochemistry from Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
Albert Biermann
Head of R&D Division, Hyundai Motor Group
Major Professional Experience
2019 - President, Head of R&D Division, Hyundai Motor Group
2018 President, Vehicle Performance Division, Hyundai Motor Group
2015 - 2017 Executive Vice President, Performance Development & High Performance Vehicle Division, Hyundai Motor Group
2008 - 2014 Vice President, BMW M and BMW Individual
2003 - 2007 Overall Project Manager, BMW X5 and X5/X6 M
1983 - 2002 Various Assignments in Chassis, Motorsport, High Performance Vehicle Development, BMW AG
Education
Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University, Germany
MAG. Christian Kern
Partner and Managing Director of the Blue Minds Company
After working as a journalist and in the Austrian Parliament and Federal Chancellery, Mr. Kern launched a career in the energy sector in 1997. At Verbund AG, Austria’s largest energy utility, he was appointed to the group’s management board in 2007. He then switched to the Austrian Federal Railways Group, where he served as Chairman of the Management Board from 2010 onward. In this capacity, he also became Chairman of the Brussels-based Community of European Railways (CER) in 2014. Under Mr. Kern's leadership, the Austrian Federal Railways investigated the railway operator's role during the Nazi era in a project entitled "Suppressed Years". He has received the Torberg Medal of the Jewish Community of Vienna.
From May 2016 until December 2017 Christian Kern was Austria’s Federal Chancellor.
Mr. Kern was born in Vienna on 4th January 1966, and he graduated from an academic secondary school in Vienna’s 11th district (Simmering). He then went on to study sociology, political science and communications at the University of Vienna.
Rob Campbell
Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Ballard Power Systems
Rob Campbell was appointed Chief Commercial Officer at Ballard Power Systems in May 2017. Mr. Campbell’s responsibilities include global business development, sales, marketing, product line management and after-sales service activities in the Company’s key Power Products markets of Heavy Duty Motive, Material Handling and Back-up Power.
Rob has considerable experience in global business development for technology based products in China, Japan, India, Europe and the United States. He has deep knowledge of high-growth markets and engineering-based capital equipment sales to sophisticated customers.
Mr Campbell was most recently President and CEO of SoloPower Systems Inc., Prior to SoloPower his career included: SVP of Business Development at Energy Conversion Devices and Solar Integrated Technologies in the US., EVP of Sales and Marketing at Hydrogenics in Ontario, Canada and senior leadership roles at several construction and power generation companies in Ontario, Canada.
Mr. Campbell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering at Queen’s University and an MBA in Finance and Marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business. He is a licensed Professional Engineer with the Professional Engineers Association of Ontario.
Ehud (Udi) Adiri
Director General, Ministry of Energy of Israel
Ehud (Udi) Adiri was born in 1977. He is married, has three children and resides in Hod HaSharon.
Adiri served in the military, both during his compulsory service and permanent service, as a combat soldier and commander in the Armored Corps. Mr. Adiri continues to, where he serves in the reserves until today with the rank of major.
Adiri is a graduate of Tel Aviv University in Economics (cum laude) and in history (summa cum laude), has an MA in Economics from Tel Aviv University (2010), and an MA in Public Administration from Harvard University (2013).
Adiri camejoined to the Ministry of Energy after gaining extensive experience in the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance, where he began his career in 2005 as a transportation referent. From 2013 until recently, Adiri served as Deputy Commissioner of Budgets in the Ministry of Infrastructures: Transportation, Energy, Minerals, Water and Agriculture. Adiri worked to build and manage the budgets of government bodies operating in these areas, initiated structural changes and reforms, and promoted national projects.
Adiri led complex processes that included conductingthrough negotiations with government, private and public bodies, labor committees and foreign financial corporations and entities; Construction and monitoring of infrastructure company development plans; Andand professional management of multi-participant matrix processes. In addition, he was responsible for the manpowerwork force of the Budgets Department, including recruitment, recruitment and training.
Among the significant processes that were promoted during his term were: a reform for constructing private ports in Israel, formulation of a policy for the establishment of mass transportation projects, formulation of Netivei Israel and Israel Railways development plans, the Second Sheshinski Committee, reforms in water tariffs for agriculture, opening up the fresh food market for import, development of the natural gas market for transportation and industry, promotion of competition in the domestic gas market, management of procedures for the establishment of a private airfield, development of gas fields, and a socio-economic plan for the Bedouin society.
Daniel Sperling
Distinguished Professor and founding director, University of California, California Air Resources Board
Dr. Daniel Sperling is Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy, and founding Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis. He has held the transportation seat on the California Air Resources Board since 2007 and was chair of the Transportation Research Board of the US National Academies in 2015-16. He was awarded the 2018 Roy W. Crum award by TRB, its highest research award, 2013 Blue Planet Prize from the Asahi Glass Foundation, and has authored or co-authored over 250 technical papers and 13 books, including Three Revolutions (Island Press, 2018) and Two Billion Cars (Oxford University Press, 2009).
Meital Lehavi
Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo for Transportation, Construction and Infrastructure
Meital Lehavi serves as a city council member since 2003 and as the deputy mayor since 2009. Chairwoman of "Meretz" faction in Tel Aviv-Yafo. Winner of the 2016 "Green Globe" award for her life-long environmental activity.
Throughout her political activity Meital Lehavi has been acting to promote values of democracy, equality and empowerment of disadvantaged communities as well as improving life quality, health, and the environment.
Nowadays, she leads initiatives for technological innovation in the fields of transportation, including projects with the EU.
She participates in Knesset sessions about transportation and bicycle regulations, and acts to change the Israeli wage system by allowing workers to convert their car holding reimbursements for a "Green arrival to work" bonus.
Initiator of Tel Aviv-Yafo's city plan for safe walking to school, the renovations of the city's train stations, and their connectivity with other means of public transport ion. She promotes the expansion of the "Shirot" layout in the city.
Rutie Adar
Head, Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center, Israel
Rutie Adar has been heading Samsung’s Strategy and Innovation Center, Israel since 2013. She has been the main focal point for startups, mature companies and academia to explore potential collaborations with Samsung’s innovation platforms. Some of these collaborations included investments and incubation. The Israeli center operates a local incubator which hosts very early stage startups engaging in close collaboration and mentoring.
Rutie has been working in the consumer semiconductors industry during the past 27 years. She started her career developing image processing and parallel processing algorithms. In the past 20 years Rutie held various managerial positions in marketing, strategy, planning and business development. She joined Samsung in 2010 for technology sourcing for Samsung’s component business.
She has B.S. and M.S. in mathematics and computer science from the Hebrew University Jerusalem and MBA from Tel Aviv University.
Rutie has passion for studying and recently she finished her B.A. in political science and international affairs and she studies now for her M.A. in political communications at Tel Aviv University which will be her fifth degree.
Marc Granger
Chief Strategy Officer, Alstom
Mr. Marc Granger serves as Chief Executive Officer of Gibela Rail Transport Consortium RF (Pty) Ltd. Mr. Granger has been Chief Strategy Officer of Alstom SA since October 26, 2017. Mr. Granger is Founder of Compin Group SA and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Barat Sofanor S.A.S. He rejoined Alstom in January 2013 as General Manager for PRASA's overall activities. He began his career with Alstom and in the ensuing 20 years he has gained extensive experience in product design, marketing, project tenders and management. As Senior Vice President for Rolling Stock at Alstom, he was responsible for a €3,5 billion division of 18,000 employees based in Europe, the Americas/Asia and Oceania. In this role, he Presided over successful launches and build-up of railway projects around the world. He is an Engineer from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts & Métiers, France. He holds an MBA from Hautes Études Commerciales, France.
Aharon Aharon
CEO, Israel Innovation Authority
Aharon Aharon is the CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, an independent public entity that operates for the benefit of the Israeli innovation ecosystem and Israeli economy as a whole. Its role is to nurture and develop Israeli innovation resources, while creating and strengthening the infrastructure and framework needed to support the entire knowledge industry.
Prior to his role at the Authority, Aharon served as the VP of Hardware Technologies and General Manager of Apple Israel. His previous roles were Co-founder, CEO, and chairman of Camero, a startup developing through-the-wall micro-power radars, active Chairman of the Board at Discretix, a startup providing solutions for data security, CEO of Seabridge, a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens and COO of Zoran. Prior to that, he held a number of senior management positions at the IBM Research Division.
Aharon holds a B.Sc and M.Sc in Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering respectively from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where he lectured for more than 15 years.
Michal Reut Gelbart
CEO, Future Mobility IL
Michal Reut Gelbart is the CEO of Future Mobility IL, a non profit NGO that seeks to place Israel as a leader in smart mobility solutions and as a center of knowledge for the MAAS (Mobility as a Service) revolution.
Prior to her role at Future Mobility IL, Michal was employed for 4 years in the Budget Division at the Israel Ministry of Finance, and was in charge of national innovation and high education system budgets. Prior to her work in the Division, Michal was as a senior analyst at AMDOCS and a finance consultant at BDO Ziv Haft.
Michal holds an MBA with honors in a joint program of Ben Gurion University of the Negev and Columbia University, and a BA in Economics and International Relations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Men Leong Chew
Chief Marketing Officer, ST Engineering
Chew Men Leong joined ST Engineering in Nov 2016 and currently assumes the role of Chief Marketing Officer for the group. He also concurrently holds the appointment of Deputy President and President (Defence Business) of the Marine Arm of ST Engineering. In this role, he oversees defence business and environmental engineering services for the company.
Men Leong was a former civil servant, member of the Administrative Service and former Chief of Navy.
Men Leong served as the Chief Executive of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) Singapore from Oct 2014 to Nov 2016. Under his leadership, a number of major projects were launched including operations of the Downtown Line phase 2, the first two bus service operator tenders under the new Government Contracting model and the transition of the train operator to the New Rail Financial Framework model. He also drove new initiatives on autonomous vehicles, smart and active mobility.
Prior to LTA, Men Leong helmed the Public Utilities Board (PUB) since 2011. In that role, he was responsible for ensuring an adequate and sustainable water supply as well as efficient water reclamation and drainage systems for the population of Singapore. He was spearheading the Environmental and Water Industry office which oversaw the development of the environment and water industry in Singapore.
Before 2011, Men Leong served 25 years in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). He was the Chief of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) from 2007 to 2011. As the Chief of Navy, he operationalised key aspects of the Third Generation RSN, transforming its force structure as well as capability and people development frameworks. Men Leong was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Military) (Gold) in 2008.
Men Leong was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1987 and graduated from Imperial College London in 1990 with bachelor’s degree (first class honours) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He obtained a Master of Science in management from Stanford University in 2002 and graduated from the Advanced Management Programme at Wharton School of Business in 2011.
Pierluigi Zampieri
Head of Innovation Management, R&D of Ducati Motor Holding
Pierluigi Zampieri is currently in charge of Innovation Management inside the R&D of Ducati Motor Holding. He has been collecting several experiences during fifteen years in different Automotive Companies, following the design and the development of mass-produced and racing vehicles in international environments. He keeps enjoying the relationship with a broad list of stakeholders: dreaming startuppers, hi-level managers, super-focused engineers, world championship riders, sough-after consultants, multinational vendors. You can learn a bit from everyone. In 2014, he enriched his Mechanical Engineering graduation with an Executive Master in Technology and Innovation Management at Bologna Business School, and since 2015 he’s Adjunct Professor at the School of Engineering and Architecture of Bologna University.
Felix Scheuffelen
Head of Scheuffelen Advisory, Operating Partner of Beyond1435
Felix is a German-Brazilian entrepreneur and investor. As Operating Partner his advisory firm enables the open innovation consortium Beyond1435 to launch new projects and conduct industrial due diligences case by case. Based in Berlin, the innovation consortium, with its Founding Partners Deutsche Bahn, Siemens Mobility, SBB, and Bombardier puts a special emphasis on transportation and smart city technologies. Within the Beyond1435 innovation framework, the corporations launch tech projects jointly or partner up with specific startups in win-win-scenarios.
Dorman Followwill
Senior Partner, Frost & Sullivan
Functional Expertise •
>30 years of organizational leadership and management consulting experience, having worked on hundreds of consulting projects across all major regions and across multiple industry sectors, each project focused around the strategic imperative of growth. Particular expertise in
– Mega Trends, Digital Transformation and Innovation (Shell, Merck Millipore, Daiichi Sankyo, Hitachi, etc)
– Geographic expansion strategies (Bayer, Pfizer, Roche, Smith & Nephew, HP Inc., IBM, Qualcomm Life)
– Brand and demand strategies (Hitachi, Daiichi Sankyo, etc.)
– Customer based market tracking (Bayer Biologicals, longest engagement in Frost & Sullivan history)
– Early stage company development and capitalisation (Target ID for Healthcare investments, Fidelity)
– Partnership/JV strategies, M&A and VC related activities (GE acquisitions of Amersham, Instrumentarium)
Industry Expertise •
Experienced across a broad range of sectors, but with specific focus on
– Pharmaceuticals
– Medical Devices/Medical Technologies
– Financial Services
– Information and Communication Technologies
– Cybersecurity
– FMCG
What I bring to the Team
• Broad-based experience in multiple sectors gained over the last 30 years working with senior management in North America, Europe, and Asia
• Driving business success and growth in multi-cultural environments
• Driving Sales performance through maximum focus on key sales strategies and their tactical implications
• Outstanding public speaking capability and strong workshop and large public meeting moderation skills
• Passion for leadership and mentoring to help drive individual teams and team members to peak performance Career Highlights
• At Frost & Sullivan
– 1988-1990 Helped found the Consulting business, working across all regions and industry sectors
– 2002-2005 Drove the Healthcare NA business unit to average annual growth of over 20% and average annual net margins of over 20%, becoming a Partner in 2003
– 2008-2009 As a Partner on the Executive Committee helped drive to record profitability during Crisis.
– 2016 Promoted to Senior Partner overseeing Global Transformational Health business unit
Education •
BA from Stanford University in The Management of Organizations
Constantin Schwaab
CEO, Wirelane
Constantin is a serial entrepreneur and the founder CEO of Wirelane, a technology company focused on electro mobility solutions, which combines hardware and software to power the future of mobility.
Previously, Constantin was the founder and CEO of kinoheld, a market leading platform for movie tickets which was acquired by global live entertainment corporation, the German CTS Eventim AG. Prior to the ticketing sector, he ventured in green tech as the founder and managing partner of Plain Energy, a Europe wide PV-plant developer with approx. 50m€ assets under management. Constantin is an experienced project manager with 10 yrs of expertise in all facets of the PV industry. He developed power plants in 5 countries and has a strong track record along the value chain including site development, construction, financing and operation.
Constantin started his career as the founder of one of the largest European e-commerce sites at its time which he successfully exited to NYSE Euronext listed Loyaltouch in 2007.
Born in 1978, Constantin studied political sciences at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, the Uni Mail in Geneva and the UB in Barcelona. He speaks 4 languages, successfully competed in endurance sports competition (Iron Man Triathlon) and has two kids.
Pierpaolo Biffali
Vice President, Product Engineering, FPT Industrial
Pierpaolo Biffali has been working in the field of engines development and industrialization for 20 years.
He started his career as a diesel engineer for automotive applications at Fiat Group, and in 2007 he joined the industrial branch of the company, working with powertrains for commercial vehicles, agricultural and construction equipment.
As Vice President for Product Engineering at FPT Industrial, Biffali leads a fundamental and challenging transformation in the industry: to integrate new fields of competence and technology to the Brand’s products, such as electrification and digitization, evolving the engineering community from a combustion and mechanical DNA to a propulsion system-oriented approach.
Gael Escribe
Founding Partner, CEO, Nexus Automotive International
Experience
NEXUS Automotive International SA
Founding Partner, CEO
Geneva Area, Switzerland
Delphi Products and Services Solutions EMEA
Vice-President - Member of the Delphi European Governance Board
Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 Vice-President IAM
Jan 2011 – Dec 2012 Vice-President Sales
Jul 2010 – Dec 2010 Executive Sales Director
Valeo
General Manager Valeo Service Northern Europe
Sep 2002 – Mar 2005 General Manager Valeo Service Eastern Europe
Aug 1999 – Aug 2002 Financial Controller Valeo Service Export
Mazars
Senior Financial Auditor
Sep 1993 - Feb 1997
Education
Rouen Business School
1990-1993
Mathias Wiecher
Head of Ultra-Fast Charging & Infrastructure, E.ON
Mathias Wiecher, Head of E.ON Drive, is responsible for all E-Mobility activities across the E.ON group. Before this he lead the development of E.ON´s ultra-fast charging network across Europe. Prior to this he was in leadership positions at E.ON Inhouse Consulting as well as at A.T. Kearney in Germany and the US with a focus on Energy and Mergers & Acquisitions.
Alexander Hitzinger
SVP autonomous driving VW Group and member of the executive board VWN, responsible for R&D
Experience
SVP Autonomous Driving VW Group and Member of the Executive board VWN, resp for R&D
Dates Employed: Jan 2019 – Present
Head of Product Design - Special Projects Group
Dates Employed: Apr 2016 – Jan 2019
Technical Director for Porsche 919
Dates Employed: 2011 – Mar 2016
- Red Bull Racing & Red Bull Technology
Head of Advanced Technologies
Dates Employed: 2007 – 2011
Head of Formula 1 Development
Dates Employed: 2003 – 2007
Head of WRC Development
Dates Employed: 2000 – 2003
Education
Hochschule Landshut: Dipl. Ing (FH) - Mechanical Engineering
University of Warwick: MBA - Business Administration, Management and Finance
Chris Leck
Deputy Group Director, Land Transport Authority of Singapore
Chris Leck is the Deputy Group Director at the Land Transport Authority of Singapore, where he oversees the Autonomous Vehicle Programme Office. Prior to this, he served in various capacities within the Singapore Public Service, including Director of the Futures & Transformation Division at the Ministry of Transport and Director of Strategic & Political-Military Planning at the Ministry of Defence. Chris graduated from the London School of Economics with a Bachelor’s degree in Government & Economics, and also holds a Master’s degrees in International Relations and International Law from Columbia University, the Australian National University and Tel Aviv University.
Hadas Topor Cohen
Senior Director for Product Management and Quality, Over the Air and Automotive Cloud (Core) software portfolios, HARMAN
Hadas Topor Cohen is Senior Director for Product Management and Quality, Over the Air and Automotive Cloud (Core) software portfolios at HARMAN, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. HARMAN designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, cybersecurity solutions, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions and services supporting the Internet of Things. Hadas joined HARMAN following the acquisition of Redbend, where she held the same position.
Hadas brings more than 20 years of experience in software development, product management, marketing and strategy. Before Redbend, Hadas held management positions at Amdocs and TTI. Hadas started her career in the software development unit of the Israeli Defense Force, where she held several software development and management roles during her seven years of service.
Hadas holds an engineering degree from Bar-Ilan University and an MBA in Marketing and Strategy from Tel-Aviv University.
Andrew Grant
Associate, BloombergNEF
Andrew Grant is an associate at BloombergNEF covering intelligent mobility.
He produces analysis on business models, technologies and policies related to connected cars, mobility services and autonomous driving.
Andrew works with automakers, utilities, technology companies and investors to understand the role of data in the future of transportation.
He is based in London and holds MSc Applied Economics and Bachelor of Business Science in Economics degrees from the University of Cape Town.
Dipti Vachani
Senior Vice President & General Manager, Automotive and IoT Line of Business, Arm
Dipti Vachani is the senior vice president and general manager of the Automotive and IoT Line of Business at Arm. Dipti’s organization is responsible for the proliferation of Arm-based solutions in the transformational opportunities of autonomous driving and IoT.
Prior to joining Arm, Dipti served as vice president and general manager of the Product Management and Customer Enablement division in the IoT Group at Intel Corporation. There, she was responsible for driving the overall product development roadmap, technology direction, IoT Edge product portfolio and worldwide customer enablement for IoT.
Before Intel, Dipti spent 17 years at Texas Instruments, where she led the creation of the company’s Sitara brand of Arm MPUs, and held multiple product manager and leadership roles including vice president and general manager of the Single Core Processors group.
Dipti has served on the board of directors for NetSpeed Systems and the Innovation and Technology advisory board for the City of San Jose. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Texas A&M University, an executive MBA degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a graduate of the executive education programs at Stanford, Harvard and Cambridge business schools.
Jan Becker
President, CEO, and Co-Founder, Apex.AI, Inc.
Jan Becker is President, CEO, and Co-Founder of Apex.AI, Inc. He is also the Managing Director of the Apex.AI GmbH and Co-Founder and Director of the Autoware Foundation. Prior to founding Apex.AI, he was Senior Director at Faraday Future responsible for Autonomous Driving and Director at Robert Bosch LLC responsible for Automated Driving in the North America. He also served as a Senior Manager and Principal Engineer at the Bosch Research and Technology Center in Palo Alto, CA, USA, and as a senior research engineer for Corporate Research at Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany. Since 2010, Jan is Lecturer at Stanford University for autonomous vehicles and driver assistance. Previously, he was a visiting scholar at the University’s Artificial Intelligence Lab and a member of the Stanford Racing Team for the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.
Liad Itzhak
Head of Mobility, SVP
Liad Itzhak is leading the Mobility business unit at HERE Technologies, driving the next revolution of the mobility ecosystem. Itzhak brings vast experience as a leader in the world of smart mobility, with expertise in consumer apps and Big Data.
Prior to joining HERE, Itzhak built key units at Waze/Google from the ground up, including Data, Maps and QA. Itzhak led the Data strategy of the company, turning Waze into a data-driven organization.
Horace Dediu
Co-founder, Micromobility Industries, Bond Mobility, Asymco
Horace Dediu is a co-founder of Micromobility Industries and Bond Mobility. He coined the word “micromobility” to describe on-demand services provided by lightweight vehicles. Previously, Horace was a fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation where he taught and researched technology adoption and diffusion rates. Horace is also the founder and author of Asymco.com, a technology analysis firm and hosts two podcasts: the Critical Path and Micromobility. He has written two books based on these podcasts published as Kickstarter projects. Prior to these efforts Horace was a senior analyst at Nokia and founded two startups providing electronic publishing products and services.
Horace has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a MS in Computer Engineering from Tufts University.
Eric Wang
Co-founder and CEO, WIND Mobility
Eric Wang is the co-founder and CEO of WIND Mobility. WIND Mobility is a leading micro-mobility and scooter sharing platform in Europe, Israel and Asia. Eric also co- founded BYKE, the first dockless bike sharing startup in Germany. Prior to this, he was an executive at Zenjoy, a leading consumer Internet gaming company, in charge of International Operations, Business and Corporate Development. Eric also co-founded one of the first Chinese ride sharing startup in 2011, following the completion of his master thesis on The Potential of Carsharing and Ridesharing in Local Transportation Development. Eric started his career within the Mergers and Acquisitions group in Merrill Lynch in New Year after graduating from Columbia University.
Gil Tal
Director, Electric Vehicle Research Center, University of California, Davis
Gil Tal, Ph.D., is the Director of the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center at the University of California, Davis (UCD). He is also affiliated with the China Center for Energy and Transportation and the Transportation Technology and Policy Graduate Group at UCD. Dr. Tal is a leading expert on electric vehicle travel behavior, as well as understanding the role that incentives and infrastructure play in the electric vehicle market worldwide. He also researches the electrification of new mobility services and automated vehicles and their impacts on the electric grid. Dr. Tal published more than eighty articles and peer-reviewed conference proceedings and he works with policy makers and decision makers from government and industry in the US, China, and Europe. Previously, Dr. Tal was a post-doctoral researcher at UC Berkeley, and UC Davis. He holds a Ph.D. in Transportation Technology and Policy from UC Davis and a M.A. in Geography and Environmental Policy and Planning from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Joshua Shapiro
Chief Operating Officer, Liberty Maritime Corporation
Joshua Shapiro joined Liberty Maritime Corporation (“LMC”) and Liberty Global Logistics (“LGL”) in 2009 as part of the Operations and Strategic Planning departments. He was subsequently promoted to the position of Vice President of both companies with responsibilities ranging from Chartering and Trade Management to Business Development and Technological Solutions. He was named the Chief Operating Officer of LMC and Executive Vice President of LGL in April, 2016.
As Executive Vice President of LGL, Mr. Shapiro is also integrally involved in the ocean transportation and logistics company, overseeing all modes of its diversified point to point logistics solutions including – ocean, trucking, air and rail. He is a member of the Executive Management Committee which is responsible for the business performance, strategic partnerships and growth strategies of the companies.
Dimitrios Koukas
Chairman & Group CEO, Optima Shipping Services LTD
Dimitrios Koukas, Chairman & Group CEO of Optima Shipping Services LTD with offices in Athens / Shanghai / Dubai / Istanbul. He has over 30 years of experience in the industry, global awareness and a strong track record in New Buildings, Second hand sales and Demolition, whereby he managed to sell well over 1000 Vessels so far in his Career as a broker. In 2019 he co-founded Optima-X and Enso XL Maritime Accelerator, a hub for Maritime Innovation in Athens. Mr. Koukas studied Marine Engineering and Naval architecture and continued with Post Graduate studies in International Shipping. Thereafter he joined the Hellenic Navy in order to provide his National Services and served 1 year as assistant to the Commander in the Submarines Command whereby he was decorated for his Services and then he served 1 year under the orders of the Vice Admiral of the Hellenic Navy General Staff. During his career he also studied in parallel and he strengthened his knowledge with Executive Education Studies in Harvard Business School, focusing on Private Equities and Venture Capital. He is also co-founder and elected as Vice President in the Greek Shipping-Shipbroking Companies Association and has been invited and acting as Panelist Broker for the Baltic Exchange for the past 15 years. Also he has been leading various Shipping Related Companies and acted as coordinator in various Shipping Projects whereby he provided Turn Key Solutions to Investors who wanted to Explore Shipping Opportunities. He is a Member of the BOD in quite a few companies acting as an advisor. Dimitrios Koukas is actively involved into Yachting with Commercially Managed and Chartered Mega Yachts and he's been very sensitive with matters such as Corporate Social Responsibility and especially within the Greek underprivileged Community.
Marcus Behrendt
Partner, BMW i Ventures
2018 - present Partner, BMW i Ventures
2018 - present Board Director, Mapillary
2018 - present Strategis Council to the Board, NAUTO
2019 - present Boar Director, DSP Concepts, Inc.
2016 - 2018 Vice President User Experience, Control Panels, Ergonomics, BMW
2015 - 2016 VP HMI Concepts and Concept Quality, BMW
2013 - 2015 Senior Manger HMI Concepts and Concept Quality, BMW
Education
2018 - Haas School of Business University of California, Berkeley
Executive Education, Venture Capital Executive Program
1992-1998 Technische Universität Berlin
Dipl.-Ing. (Wirtschaftsingenieur); Field Of Study: Management and Engineering
Michael Wilshire
Director of Analysis, Bloomberg New Energy Finance
Michael leads BNEF’s strategic research into the energy sector, with a particular focus on the impact of emerging or disruptive technologies in transforming both energy and transport – including the Internet of Things, machine learning, analytics, and other hardware and software technologies. He has experience as a policy maker within government as well as two decades of management consulting at McKinsey, where he was a partner before joining BNEF as Head of Analysis.
Michael originally worked in the Department of Energy in the late 1980s, providing policy advice to UK Government Ministers. He worked on the deregulation of the energy sector, nuclear policy and the privatisation of the electricity industry. At McKinsey, he advised clients in the energy, technology and telecommunications industries, where he worked for operators, hardware and software companies in over 20 different countries on technology, strategic, operational, and marketing issues.
- Michael has an MA in mathematics from Cambridge University and an MBA from the London Business School.
Neil Schloss
Former VP and CFO, Ford Mobility and VP, Treasurer for Ford Motor Company
Neil Schloss was a former VP and CFO of Ford Mobility and VP and Treasurer for Ford Motor Company. He joined the Ford Motor Company in 1982 in the Finance Office at Ford Aerospace and progressed through a series of finance positions at Aerospace prior to transferring to Ford in 1990. In 1991, he joined the Treasurer's Office at Ford and held numerous positions of increasing responsibilities in all aspects of Corporate Treasury and Finance, including Risk Management, Capital Strategy, Banking, Investor Relations, Asset Management, Cash Management and Capital Markets. In April 2003, Neil was promoted to Assistant Treasurer, and in March 2007 was promoted to VP and Corporate Treasurer for Ford. In July 2016 he took on the role of CFO for Ford Mobility, a newly created subsidiary. Neil retired from Ford after 36 years at year-end 2018. Since retiring, Neil has taken on the roles of independent director at Karamba Security, has joined the advisory board of Our Crowd, both based in Israel and has joined the board of BNP Paribas USA, Inc.
Neil holds an undergraduate degree in Finance from the San Diego State University and an MBA from the University of Santa Clara.
Moran Price
Co-founder & CEO, IRP Nexus Group
Co-founded IRP Nexus Group and CEO since 2011
Led the expansion from high-end aerospace systems to mass e-mobility markets
Managing the business engagement with the automotive industry
Built the R&D team and the entire skill set of multi-disciplinary systems design in-house
Leading the technology innovation and commercialization of cutting-edge electric powertrain systems
Intel, communication divisions (2001-2009)
Managed multiple chip-design teams, multi-disciplinary and multi-site
Strategic planner, worked with automotive OEMs & tier1s on comms integration into the dashboard
Ntrig, product manager (2010)
Worked with leading PC & mobile OEMs
Tel Aviv university, BsC Electronic engineering (1996-2000)
Kellogg-Recanati, EMBA (2007-2009)
Joshua Wilkenfeld
Senior Counsel, Uber
Josh Wilkenfeld is a Senior Counsel with Uber, where he leads Uber's regulatory work with respect to autonomous vehicle development and deployment. In this capacity, Josh advises Uber on a host of regulatory issues related to self-driving technology, and also partners with external stakeholders in developing the fluid regulatory framework surrounding autonomous vehicle technology. Josh is based in Washington, DC. Prior to his work with Uber, Josh spent 8 years with the United States Department of Justice, helping to develop complex regulatory techniques for emerging legal issues (including those surrounding the financial sector and immigration). Josh lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife and three beautiful children.
Ori Yogev
Founder & Chairman, Future Mobility IL
Ori is a businessman who served as the head of the Budget Division in the Ministry of Finance between 2002-2004. In 2009-2010 he served as the Chairman of the Israel National Economic Council Advisory Committee and as the economic advisor for Prime Minister Netanyahu. From 2013-2017 he served as the head of the Government Companies Authority. Alongside his governmental serving, Ori has a broad experience in Senior Management roles as CEO and Chairman in various Business Companies (chairman of Israel Railways and Plastro irrigation and CEO of Bezeq international), and he specialise in managing and leading strategic processes. Moreover, Ori has a wide experience as a Board member in different companies. Ori has a B.A and M.A in economics. He lives in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut and is married with five children.
Michael Anfang
Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, STMicroelectronics’ Europe, Middle East and Africa Region (EMEA)
Michael Anfang is Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing for STMicroelectronics’ Europe, Middle East and Africa Region (EMEA), and has held this position since November 2018.
Anfang started his career with Siemens Semiconductor AG in 1990 in product engineering, followed by responsibilities in product design, automotive and strategic marketing. In 1999, he joined ST as an automotive business development manager. In 2002, Anfang was given responsibility for microcontroller product marketing at ST’s Automotive Division in Agrate, Italy and was promoted to Director of Marketing & Applications in 2005. Four years later, he was appointed Digital Automotive Business Unit Director of the Automotive Product Group and became a member of the management team responsible for the MCU Joint Development Program between Freescale and STMicroelectronics. In 2013, Anfang joined the EMEA regional organization of STMicroelectronics as Automotive Marketing & Applications Vice President.
Michael Anfang was born in Kitzbühel, Austria, in 1968. He graduated with a degree in Electronic Engineering from the Higher Technical School in Saalfelden, Austria, and a degree in Business Management and Marketing from the FU University in Hagen-Munich, Germany.
Joachim Mathes
CTO, Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems
Joachim Mathes started his career in the sensor development team of former SWF in 1989 after graduating in electronic engineering at BA Stuttgart. When, in 1995, the company changed to ITT Automotive, he joined the project management organization and worked on business development with customers worldwide. After the acquisition by Valeo in 1998, he took over the responsibility for project management in the new Division. In the year 2000, when a new Branch was created for the Switches and Detection Systems, Joachim was appointed Director for R&D and Product Marketing. In this function he strengthened Valeo’s technology portfolio through a series of technology partnerships.
From 2007, Joachim was in charge of the Driving Assistance Domain at Valeo to foster transversal innovation. In his second function as R&D Director Detection Systems he lead the development of Park4U, which has since turned into a scalable product platform.
As R&D Director of the newly created Comfort and Driving Assistance Business Group from 2010, he initiated the Cruise4U and Drive4U programs, which saw successful public demonstrations and form the basis of current series developments. Another key element in Valeo’s automated driving strategy, driven by Joachim, was the launch of the first automotive grade laser scanner with Audi in 2017, which also was recognized by a PACE award in 2018 and has since been adopted by several global OEMs.
In July 2019 Joachim was nominated CTO for the Comfort and Driving Assistance Business Group.
Olaf Sakkers
Partner, Maniv Mobility
Olaf joined Maniv Mobility in 2014, playing an instrumental role in shaping its investment strategy and growing the first fund to $45M AUM and its portfolio to 22 of the leading global mobility startups. Olaf is regarded as one of the foremost researchers of autonomous vehicles, writing about topics such as business model disruption in the automotive industry and appearing at numerous conferences and summits worldwide to speak about the impact of autonomous vehicles and related technologies. Olaf holds a B.A. from Princeton University.
Asaf Weisbrot
Chief Commercial Officer, Otonomo
Asaf Weisbrot brings extensive experience to his role at Otonomo, having served in leadership roles at top-tier technology companies. Prior to joining Otonomo, Weisbrot ran Strategic Initiatives at F5 in EMEA after managing EMEA SDC sales for four years. Prior to F5, Weisbrot served as Ceedo’s VP of Worldwide Sales, scaling the business by forming strategic alliances with leading security and virtualization technology companies. Before joining Ceedo, he spent seven years at Flash Networks, most recently as Director of Vodafone Group Account. Prior to Flash Networks, Weisbrot served in managerial roles in global companies, including Comverse and Decell.
Mahesh Babu
CEO, Mahindra Electric
2016 - present: CEO at Mahindra Electric
2015 - 2016: COO at Mahindra Electric
1998 - 2014: Vice President - Product Development at Mahindra&Mahindra
1990 - 1998: Senior Development Engineer at Asok Leyland
Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the automotive industry. Skilled in bringing to market disruptive technologies to transform mobility in India. Passionate of Electric mobility and development of eco system for sustainable mobility. Loves to transform business using technology and bring value to customers.
Shai Agassi
Founder, Better Place
Shai Agassi is a successful Israeli entrepreneur with proven track record who sold three of his startups for the aggregate sum of more than $500M+ in total. Agassi is most recognized for his role as founder of Better Place – a globally renowned leader in the EV space. Prior to that, Agassi served as the President of SAP’s Product and Technology where he managed 12,000 engineers in 50 countries around the world. Agassi was the youngest member of SAP’s management board and is credited with a number of its key products and technology products.
Agassi holds tens of patents to his name in a multitude of fields, and received numerous awards and accolades, including: Time 100 Most Influential People in the World (2009), CNN/Time 20 Most Influential People Global Economy (2003), Scientific American Top 20 Innovators (2009), Fast Company 3rd Most Innovative Person in the World (2010), TED Speaker (2009), and was awarded the France Legion d’honour (2012).
Caroline Hazlehurst
Senior Director of EMEA Operations, Bird
Caroline Hazlehurst is the Senior Director of EMEA Operations at Bird, a last mile electric scooter rental service with a mission is to make cities more liveable by reducing car usage, traffic, and congestion. Prior to Bird, she was UK General Manager and then Director of Operations at Deliveroo, an on-demand food delivery business. Previously, Caroline was an Investment Executive at private equity fund Bridgepoint, and an Investment Banker at Barclays and Rothschild. In addition, she has held various Non-Executive Director roles at early stage startups.
Jonathan Weisgall
Vice President for Government Relations, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co.
Jonathan Weisgall is Vice President for Government Relations for Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company. Weisgall also serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies and on the Geothermal Resources Council Policy Committee. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught a seminar on energy issues since 1990. Weisgall graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia College and from Stanford Law School and has published articles in Legal Times, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, and The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Erez Dagan
Executive Vice President Products and Strategy, Mobileye; Vice President, Intel Corporation
Mobileye executive vice president Erez Dagan is responsible for Mobileye’s business objectives, the company’s product planning and architecture, strategic planning and initiatives, and advanced-development projects. He also leads forward communication with Mobileye’s OEM customers.
In his 16-year Mobileye career, Dagan led teams responsible for computer vision algorithms, object detection technologies, and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) products, such as adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking.
Dagan also serves as a board member for Mobileye’s Japan subsidiary.
Dagan received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and an MBA from IDC, Herzliya.
Off duty, Dagan enjoys several hobbies, including painting, photography, hiking, skydiving and music jamming.
David Spielfogel
Chief Policy Officer, Lime
David Spielfogel is Lime’s Chief Policy Officer, where he oversees the company's global government affairs group. This 60-person team works collaboratively with local, state and national governments around the world to increase adoption of safe and sustainable last-mile transportation options. He previously served for two years as an advisor to the company while he was co-founder and Managing Partner of Ekistic Ventures, a fund focused on seed stage investment in companies that solve critical urban problems. He brings nearly two decades of experience at the highest levels of local government, political campaigns and philanthropy with a focus on setting the short and long-term strategies to guide good ideas to implementation. Prior to joining Lime, David served as Mayor Rahm Emanuel's senior advisor on both his campaigns and in City Hall, where his responsibilities ranged from setting the administration's daily and long-term policy agenda to leading the first municipal effort to regulate the rideshare and other sharing-economy industries. He has also served as deputy policy director for Barack Obama's senate campaign, in the Clinton White House as the Special Assistant for Policy to the President's senior adviser on energy and environmental issues, on multiple federal and local campaigns, and as Chief of Staff of the MacArthur Foundation. David earned his M.S. in International Development Management from the London School of Economics, and his B.S. from the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources.
Guy Sher
General Manager, Via Mobility Israel
Guy Sher is the General Manager of Via Mobility Israel. He is responsible for both business development and execution of Via's deployments in Israel.
Prior to joining Via at 2018, Guy worked as the Chief Finance and Operation Officer in an International large-scale technological projects company.
Guy is a graduate of Hebrew University in Jerusalem (History & Interdisciplinary studies) and holds an MBA from IDC Herzliya.
He also serves as a Lieutenant Colonel (res.) in the Israeli army.
Hans Bekkers
Business Development Manager Public Transport, VDL Bus & Coach
Hans Bekkers started at VDL Bus & Coach bv in 2014. In the role of Commercial Project Manager he was responsible for VDL’s first E-bus projects amongst which the projects in Münster and Cologne. Since then, he’s been active in numerous E-Bus projects and has played an active role in VDL Bus & Coach’s ambition to become a leading E-bus manufacturer. He currently holds the positon of Business Development Manager Public Transport, putting him at the forefront of new technologies such as electric, hydrogen and autonomous buses as well as the development of new markets and business models.
Stefan Schlutius
Managing Director and Owner, ABL Sursum GmbH & Co. KG
After his studies of business administration at Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich, Dr. Stefan Schlutius joined Roland Berger Holding.
In 1989 he entered ABL, since 1998 as Managing Director, since 2013 as 100 % Owner.
ABL is focusing on eMobility since 2011. ABL is leading manufacturer of charging stations in Europe. ABL offers a full range of AC products, including several wallboxes and poles. Together with ABL´s subsidary companies emonvia GmbH and e361 GmbH, the group offers a full range of charging stations, combined with a modern backend and accounting system. All services like planing, installation, management and maintenance are also coverd.
Lorenzo Rambaldi
Senior Energy Storage Engineer, EnelX
Lorenzo Rambaldi is a proactive professional with +10yrs international experience in clean technologies. He leads Innovation eMobility Projects in Enel X.
In recent years he worked in the field of Energy Storage involved in coordination of multicultural teams and in development and execution of international projects in companies operating in US, and Japan where I had the opportunity to have international and multi-cultural exposure.
Gideon Friedman
Chief Scientist, Ministry of Energy of Israel
Stanford Physics Ph.D. graduate with over 10 years of industry experience in program management, system engineering management and business development, with strong emphasis on computer vision and image processing. Worked in the medical instrumentation, semiconductor metrology and biotechnology industries. Experience in running a small startup, with focus on business development. Experience in setting up from scratch a new development project, as well as running it. Excellent system view and understanding of complex multi-disciplinary systems involving leading edge optics, mechanics, electronics, image processing and software. Hands-on, practically oriented with emphasis on taking the initiative and using innovation to achieve results on time and within budget.
Kirsten Korosec
Senior Reporter, TechCrunch
Kirsten Korosec is a senior reporter at TechCrunch, who covers the intersection of tech, business and transportation. Kirsten is also co-host of The Autonocast, a weekly podcast focused on cutting through the noise in the future of transportation.
Ed Niedermeyer
Senior Editor for Mobility Technology, The Drive
Ed Niedermeyer fell into the world of cars and mobility after leaving the University of Oregon in 2008, when he found work as a freelance blogger at The Truth About Cars. Primarily covering the collapse, bailout and recovery of the Detroit automakers, he moved up the ranks to become the site's Managing Editor and then Editor-in-Chief. He went on to work as an independent research and analysis consultant while contributing to BloombergView, The Daily Beast, the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and other outlets, gradually shifting focus from the traditional auto industry toward the emerging world of new mobility technology. In 2016 this growing interest blossomed into The Autonocast, which has gone on to become one of the most-followed podcasts on autonomous drive and other mobility technologies. He is currently Senior Editor for Mobility Technology at The Drive and the author of the recently published book "Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors".
Alex Roy
Editor-at-large, The Drive; Founder, Human Driving Association
Alex Roy is the founder of the Human Driving Association, editor-at-large at The Drive, host of The Autonocast, co-host of /DRIVE on NBC Sports, Director of Special Operations at Argo.AI, author of The Driver, and Producer of APEX: The Secret Race Across America. He has set numerous endurance driving records, including the infamous Cannonball Run record, and believes in mobility as a fundamental human right. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Sang Yup Lee
Samson Prize Winner
Distinguished Professor and Dean, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Dr. Sang Yup Lee is Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Dean of KAIST Institutes. He is fellow of Korean Academy of Science and Technology, National Academy of Engineering Korea, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Microbiology, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, World Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Inventors USA, and foreign member of National Academy of Sciences USA and National Academy of Engineering USA. He is Co-Chair of Global Future Council on Biotechnology at the World Economic Forum.
Emanuel Peled
Samson Prize Winner
Professor Emeritus, School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University
Emanuel Peled, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Tel-Aviv University, received his Ph.D. degree (Summa cum laude) in physical chemistry from the Hebrew University. He is the inventor and developer of the Solid-Electrolyte-Interphase (SEI) model for nonaqueous alkali-metal batteries. This model constitutes a paradigm change in the understanding of lithium batteries and has thus enabled the development of safer, durable, higher-power and lower-cost batteries. He pioneered the development of several electrochemical systems including: lithium/sulfur battery, nanoporous proton-conducting membrane, a direct methanol fuel cell, a hydrogen tribromide regenerative fuel cell and developed low-cost core-shell nanosize platinum-based catalysts. He supervised more than 70 graduate and post-doctoral students. Emanuel Peled was a co-founder of three energy-related startup companies. He has been awarded Electrochemical Society Battery Division Research, the Landau Research, the International Battery Associations (IBA), the Israel Chemical Society Outstanding Scientist Awards and the Award of Commander of MAFAT (Israel MOD). He was elected Fellow of the Electrochemical Society and of the International Society of Electrochemistry.