TC Sessions: Mobility 2020
October 6 – 7, 2020
Speakers
Tony B. Adesina
Founder & CEO Guraride
Paul Ajegba
Director Michigan Department of Transportation
Ben Bear
Chief Business Officer Spin
Reilly Brennan
Founding General Partner Trucks Venture Capital
Jordan Catrine
EV Infrastructure Business Development Manager General Motors
Lucas Di Grassi
Formula E Driver Audi Sport
David Estrada
Chief Legal & Policy Officer Nuro
Shahin Farshchi
Partner Lux Capital
Melissa Froelich
Amy Gu
Managing Partner Hemi Ventures
Danielle Harris
Director of Mobility Innovation Elemental Excelerator
Fredrik Hjelm
Co-founder & CEO VOI Technology
Rachel Holt
Co-founder & Managing Partner Construct Capital
Xiaodi Hou
CEO TuSimple
Thomas Ingenlath
CEO Polestar
Matthew Johnson-Roberson
Director, Robotics Institute & Professor, School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University
Ali Kashani, Ph.D.
Jody Kelman
Director of Product Management, Self-Driving Platform Lyft
Tara Lanigan
Director of Policy and Advocacy May Mobility
Tekedra Mawakana
Co-CEO Waymo
Celina Mikolajczak
Vice President, Battery Technology, Panasonic Energy of North America Panasonic
Detlev von Platen
Ryan Powell
Head of UX Research & Design Waymo
Trevor Pawl
Chief Mobility Officer Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification
Prashanthi Raman
VP, Global Government Relations Cruise
Pasquale Romano
President & CEO ChargePoint
Peter Rawlinson
CTO and CEO Lucid Motors
Olaf Sakkers
Partner Maniv Mobility
Bryan Salesky
Co-founder & CEO Argo AI
Bret Scott
VP, Partnerships Wejo
Dmitry Shevelenko
Co-founder & President Tortoise
Boris Sofman
Co-founder and CEO Bedrock Robotics
Margaret Stewart Nagle
Head of Policy & Government Affairs Wing
JB Straubel
Founder & CEO Redwood Materials
Nancy Sun
Co-Founder & Chief Engineer Ike
Shin-pei Tsay
Director of Policy, Cities & Transportation Uber
Rebecca Yeung
Corporate VP Operations Science & Advanced Technology FedEx
Avra van der Zee
Vice President, Strategy, & Policy Superpedestrian
Tony is Founder & CEO of GuraRide , a Pennsylvania State University graduate with a degree in Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering. Tony is a serial entrepreneur with vast knowledge in transit system solutions and Green E-Mobility Transport System with focus on Africa. With his knowledge as an Industrial Engineer which borders around system operations, simulations and integration, he decided to venture into green transport with focus on (E-Mobility). Tony remains committed to the sustainability of green transport in Africa in order to help cities reduce carbon emission, pollution, and make getting from point A to B more convenient and affordable for people.
Tony B.'s Sessions
Scooting Through the World's Regulatory Frameworks
Although dockless scooters first hit the streets of the U.S., there’s plenty of scooter activity going on abroad. And thanks to different regulatory landscapes and players, the state of scooters looks different depending on where you are. Scooters have really taken off in Europe, with a number of players operating across the continent, as well as in South America. Meanwhile, scooters have made their way to Africa but it has yet to really take off. Hear from Spin’s Bean Bear about bringing the U.S.-centric company abroad, Voi co-founder Fredrik Hjelm about the state of scooters in Europe and Tony Adesina, CEO of Gura Ride.
Paul C. Ajegba has 30 years of experience with the Michigan Department of Transportation, and was appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer as Director on Jan. 1, 2019. He previously served MDOT for three months as Metro Region Engineer, and before that as University Region Engineer. During his seven years in the University Region, Ajegba oversaw his team’s involvement in the planning, design and construction of several major projects, including the US-23 Flex Route – a project nominated for the America’s Transportation Award, landing among the top 12 national finalists. Other notable projects include the I-94 rehabilitation project in Ann Arbor/Jackson, the I-96/US-23 interchange, and the I-75 freeway project. Ajegba holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Prairie View A&M University and a Master’s Degree in construction engineering from the University of Michigan. He is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Michigan. Paul is a member of COMTO (Conference of Minority Transportation Officials), and serves on the following boards: AASHTO, ITS America, M-City, University of Michigan College of Engineering, the Engineering Society of Detroit, and the Mackinac Bridge Authority.
Paul's Sessions
Public-Private Partnerships: Advancing the Future of Mobility
The future of mobility and electrification starts with the next generation of transportation solutions. Attendees will hear from some of the most innovative names on opportunities that await when public and private entities team up to revolutionize the way we think about technology. Moderated by Trevor Pawl of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.
As Chief Business Officer, Ben is responsible for overseeing market expansion, public policy, business development, and public affairs at Spin. Prior to Spin, Ben was the founding VP Sales of Vungle, a mobile advertising company recently acquired by Blackstone. Ben began his career in Chicago, where he worked as a political consultant for the Strategy Group after graduating from nearby Northwestern University.
Ben's Sessions
Scooting Through the World's Regulatory Frameworks
Although dockless scooters first hit the streets of the U.S., there’s plenty of scooter activity going on abroad. And thanks to different regulatory landscapes and players, the state of scooters looks different depending on where you are. Scooters have really taken off in Europe, with a number of players operating across the continent, as well as in South America. Meanwhile, scooters have made their way to Africa but it has yet to really take off. Hear from Spin’s Bean Bear about bringing the U.S.-centric company abroad, Voi co-founder Fredrik Hjelm about the state of scooters in Europe and Tony Adesina, CEO of Gura Ride.
Live Q&A: Scooting Through the World's Regulatory Frameworks
Bring your questions to this live audience Q&A with the experts in building global mobility businesses.
Reilly Brennan is a general partner at Trucks Venture Capital and a lecturer at Stanford.
Reilly's Sessions
Investing in Mobility
Reilly Brennan, Amy Gu and Olaf Sakkers will come together to debate the uncertain future of mobility tech and whether VC dollars are enough to push the industry forward.
Live Q&A: Investing in Mobility
Bring your questions to this live Q&A session with some of the top investors in mobility.
The automotive industry’s ever-changing nature has provided General Motors with opportunities to think about business strategies in completely different ways, especially when it comes to an all-electric future. As manager of the company’s Global Electric Vehicle Infrastructure team, Jordan Catrine is focused on ensuring that EV owners have a positive charging experience. That starts with ensuring customers have ample places to charge their vehicles. Jordan led GM’s collaboration with industry-leading Charge Point Operators to improve the public charging experience and increase the number of chargers deployed in North America. He also is the primary contact for utility companies wanting to work with GM to ensure EV owners are charging at the lowest cost to both the consumer and environment. Jordan began his career as investment banker advising large corporations across the automotive, utility and financial sectors. He joined General Motors as a Chevrolet business analyst in 2015 before transitioning to the Global Corporate Strategy Team. There he focused on building sound business strategies in urban mobility, connectivity, autonomous and electrification. Jordan joined General Motors to be part of an industry experiencing constant disruption and change. He is inspired by the knowledge that his work in urban mobility and transit impacts the lives of real people — specifically, how they get from place to place. In his current EV role, that means getting there in an emissions-free way. Jordan is a graduate of Michigan State University, where he earned his degree in finance. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan.
Jordan's Sessions
Public-Private Partnerships: Advancing the Future of Mobility
The future of mobility and electrification starts with the next generation of transportation solutions. Attendees will hear from some of the most innovative names on opportunities that await when public and private entities team up to revolutionize the way we think about technology. Moderated by Trevor Pawl of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.
Lucas di Grassi is a founding member of Formula E, has competed in every race up until now and is the most successful driver on the grid in terms of podium positions. He was Champion in the 2016/2017 season and has never finished a season outside the top three of the drivers’ championship. In addition to his role as Audi factory driver, Lucas di Grassi is an entrepreneur for innovation, sustainability and electric mobility: As an advisor of Roborace the Brazilian is developing autonomous driving. As co-founder of Zero Summit he is organizing the first ever technology and business meeting for a zero-carbon future in Latin America which is scheduled to debut this November. Since 2018, Lucas di Grassi is the official United Nations Ambassador for Clean Air. In this role he was holding several keynotes, for example during the 2019 UN Climate Week in New York. His most recent project: 2021 marks the start of a world championship for electric scooters. Lucas di Grassi lives in Monaco together with his wife Bianca and his son Leonardo. When not fighting for trophies in his Audi race car, he enjoys bike rides in the mountains around Monaco, has some fun with an eFoil board on the Mediterranean Sea or takes his family on a trip in his all-new Audi e-tron Sportback.
Lucas Di's Sessions
The Future of Racing
Formula E driver Lucas Di Grassi is part of a new racing series, in which riders on high-speed electric scooters compete against each other on temporary circuits in cities. Think Formula E, but with electric scooters. The former CEO of Roborace and sustainability ambassador of the EsC, Electric Scooter Championship, will join us to talk about electrification, micromobility and a new kind of motorsport.
David Estrada is Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Nuro, where he oversees the company’s public policy, legal affairs, safety, and communications teams. David has spent his career helping Fortune 500 companies and rapidly growing ventures navigate legal and regulatory challenges while launching and scaling innovative products. Before joining Nuro, he held executive positions at Bird, Kitty Hawk, and Lyft during their formative and growth stages. David began his journey in emerging transportation policy as the Legal Director for Google X, where he pioneered some of the first state laws and regulations governing autonomous vehicles. David holds a BA in political science from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a JD from the University of California at Berkeley.
David's Sessions
Navigating Self-Driving Car Regulations
Autonomous vehicle developers face a patchwork of local, state and federal regulations. Government policy experts from Nuro, Aurora, Lyft and Cruise discuss how to get your startup back on the road safely.
Live Q&A: Navigating Self-Driving Car Regulations
Bring your questions to this live audience Q&A with the leaders in self-driving car regulations.
Shahin Farshchi is a partner at Lux Capital.
Melissa Froelich leads federal government affairs for Aurora, the company delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly. Before Aurora, Melissa served as Chief Counsel for the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. Melissa began her career in Washington, D.C. at the National Retail Federation, and is an alum of the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University and the University of Miami.
Melissa's Sessions
Navigating Self-Driving Car Regulations
Autonomous vehicle developers face a patchwork of local, state and federal regulations. Government policy experts from Nuro, Aurora, Lyft and Cruise discuss how to get your startup back on the road safely.
Live Q&A: Navigating Self-Driving Car Regulations
Bring your questions to this live audience Q&A with the leaders in self-driving car regulations.
Amy Gu is the founder and managing partner of Hemi Ventures, a VC firm that invests in early-stage companies in emerging technology sectors like AI, biotech, and autonomous vehicles. Amy is a leader in diversifying the male-dominated world of tech entrepreneurship and financing. Prior to her experience as an investor, Gu honed her innovation skills as an executive and adviser at companies including Evernote, Robinhood and Udacity. Fast Company named Amy among its “Most Creative People of 2015”, “40 under 40 of 2018” by Silicon Valley Business Journal and “Rising Stars in VC” by National Venture Capital Association. She holds an MBA from Stanford.
Amy's Sessions
Investing in Mobility
Reilly Brennan, Amy Gu and Olaf Sakkers will come together to debate the uncertain future of mobility tech and whether VC dollars are enough to push the industry forward.
Live Q&A: Investing in Mobility
Bring your questions to this live Q&A session with some of the top investors in mobility.
Danielle J. Harris is the Director of Innovation for Mobility at Elemental Excelerator, where she works with portfolio companies, partners, and cities to catalyze collaboration and bring more sustainable, equitable mobility solutions to market. As a thought leader in new mobility with 10 years of experience in transit planning, street design and transportation policy, Danielle provides a systems approach to help both startups and incumbents strategize and thrive within the ever-evolving mobility revolution. Prior to Elemental Excelerator, Danielle was the Innovation Strategist for San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) Office of Innovation, where she integrated her background in land use and transportation planning to create dynamic teams with both city departments and tech companies.
Danielle's Sessions
The Next Opportunities in Micromobility
Worldwide, numerous companies are operating shared micromobility services — so many that the industry is well into a consolidation phase. Despite the over-saturation of the market, there are still opportunities for new players. Danielle Harris, director of mobility innovation at Elemental Excelerator and Dmitry Shevelenko, founder at Tortoise, and Avra van der Zee, head of strategy and policy at Superpedestrian, will discuss.
Live Q&A: Next Opportunities in Micromobility
Bring your questions to this live Q&A session with the experts in micromobility.
Fredrik Hjelm co-founded Voi Technology in 2018 with a vision of improving the way people move around congested urban centres by offering fleets of electric scooters as a cleaner, affordable and exhilarating alternative to cars. Prior to Voi, Fredrik founded Guestit, the Nordics’ most successful Airbnb management company, and worked in business development for Avito.ru, Russia’s leading – and the world’s third largest – classified advertising site. Fredrik’s entrepreneurial career began at 12 years of age when he ran a number of commercial projects including forestry work (he grew up in rural Sweden), events and website sales. After graduating from high school, he attended the Armed Forces Interpreter Academy, within the intelligence branch of Sweden’s special forces, where he studied Russian and linguistics. He served a total of four years in Moscow in the Defence Attache Office, where he worked as an interpreter and analyst, covering Russia as well as Kazakhstan and Belarus. He went on to study business and economics at the Stockholm School of Economics.
Fredrik's Sessions
Scooting Through the World's Regulatory Frameworks
Although dockless scooters first hit the streets of the U.S., there’s plenty of scooter activity going on abroad. And thanks to different regulatory landscapes and players, the state of scooters looks different depending on where you are. Scooters have really taken off in Europe, with a number of players operating across the continent, as well as in South America. Meanwhile, scooters have made their way to Africa but it has yet to really take off. Hear from Spin’s Bean Bear about bringing the U.S.-centric company abroad, Voi co-founder Fredrik Hjelm about the state of scooters in Europe and Tony Adesina, CEO of Gura Ride.
Live Q&A: Scooting Through the World's Regulatory Frameworks
Bring your questions to this live audience Q&A with the experts in building global mobility businesses.
Rachel Holt is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Construct Capital, an early stage focused venture firm that invests in extraordinary founders who are transforming the most foundational industries of our economy. Sectors such as manufacturing and supply chain to logistics and transportation drive half our economy’s GDP yet lack advanced technology and are failing to meet customer expectations. Before Construct, Rachel spent nearly 8.5 years at Uber and was a long time member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team. Rachel began as one of the company’s first 30 employees, and her role quickly expanded to running the US & Canada Rides business in addition to Global Marketing and Brand, and Customer Support, which represented nearly half of Uber’s bookings, and just under half of the team. Most recently, Rachel led the company’s New Mobility organization, which includes the eBike and eScooter businesses as well as running Uber’s Incubator which funds and develops new products and services on Uber platform. Rachel began her career at Bain & Company, advising companies in the private equity, financial services and healthcare industries. She graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College and earned her MBA from Stanford University, where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar. She was ranked #9 on Fortune’s 40 under 40 and was named by Fast Company as One of the Most Creative People in Business.
Dr. Xiaodi Hou co-founded TuSimple in San Diego, California in 2015 after earning a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology. Xiaodi serves as the CEO of TuSimple and is a world-renowned expert in AI and machine learning and holds more than 30 patents in the field of autonomous vehicles. In the field of computer vision, Xiaodi has developed leading theories in computational models for visual saliency. Xiaodi also serves as a member of the Forbes technology council and as the reviewer of more than ten major computer vision journals and conferences.
Xiaodi's Sessions
The Future of Trucking
TuSimple co-founder and CTO Xiaodi Hou and Boris Sofman, former Anki Robotics founder and CEO who now leads Waymo’s trucking unit, will discuss the business and the technical challenges of autonomous trucking.
Since the completion of design studies at the Fachhochschule für Gestaltung in Pforzheim and the Royal College of Art in London, Thomas has had more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. He has worked in top design positions at Audi, Volkswagen and Skoda. In 2006, he was appointed as the Director for Design at the Volkswagen Design Centre in Potsdam, designing for all brands of the Volkswagen Group. Thomas joined Volvo Car Corporation on July 1, 2012 as Senior Vice President of Design and led the turnaround of the brand and product portfolio. Thomas Ingenlath was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Polestar on June 17, 2017; he also holds the dual-role of Chief Design Officer for the Volvo Car Group.
Thomas's Sessions
Delivering and Building EVs
Polestar is less than four years old and already has two vehicles on the market and more on the way. In this fireside chat with CEO Thomas Ingenlath we’ll discuss the company’s focus, strategy, and sleek design.
Matthew Johnson-Roberson is the director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute and a professor in the School of Computer Science. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney in 2010. He has held prior postdoctoral appointments with the Centre for Autonomous Systems (CAS) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney. He co-founded Refraction AI, a last-mile autonomous vehicle delivery company. He has worked in robotic perception since the first DARPA grand challenges in the early 2000s, and his group focuses on enabling robots to better see and understand their environment.
Matthew's Sessions
The Changing Face of Delivery
Small startups and logistics giants alike are working on how to use automated vehicle technology and robotics for delivery. Matthew Johnson-Roberson, co-founder of Refraction AI, Ali Kashani, the VP of Special Projects at Postmates will talk about the challenges and opportunities of using robots for delivery.
Ali Kashani is an engineer, tinkerer and serial entrepreneur. He explores the intersection of design and AI to create everyday solutions for everyday problems.
Ali's Sessions
The Changing Face of Delivery
Small startups and logistics giants alike are working on how to use automated vehicle technology and robotics for delivery. Matthew Johnson-Roberson, co-founder of Refraction AI, Ali Kashani, the VP of Special Projects at Postmates will talk about the challenges and opportunities of using robots for delivery.
Jody Kelman leads the self-driving platform team at Lyft, where she runs products for self-driving vehicle integration and deployment. Prior to Lyft, Jody worked at McKinsey & Company, focusing on public-private partnerships and technology-driven infrastructure investments. In 2008, she served on President Obama’s Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform transition team. Jody graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and holds a master’s degree from the University of Sydney, where she was a Fulbright Scholar. Jody currently serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a mentor at Comet Transportation Labs.
Jody's Sessions
Navigating Self-Driving Car Regulations
Autonomous vehicle developers face a patchwork of local, state and federal regulations. Government policy experts from Nuro, Aurora, Lyft and Cruise discuss how to get your startup back on the road safely.
Live Q&A: Navigating Self-Driving Car Regulations
Bring your questions to this live audience Q&A with the leaders in self-driving car regulations.
Tara Lanigan is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at May Mobility, a Michigan-based startup that is transforming cities using self-driving shuttles. May Mobility uses its industry-leading technology to create transportation systems that have launched in four cities, helping to create a safer, greener, and more accessible world. Tara began her tenure at May on the Customer Success team, helping lead AV shuttle launches in Ohio, Michigan, and Rhode Island. She then built a pipeline for growth and strong public-private partnerships as Director of Business Development. Tara is passionate about equitable mobility, accessibility, and exploring Michigan. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan.
Tara's Sessions
Public-Private Partnerships: Advancing the Future of Mobility
The future of mobility and electrification starts with the next generation of transportation solutions. Attendees will hear from some of the most innovative names on opportunities that await when public and private entities team up to revolutionize the way we think about technology. Moderated by Trevor Pawl of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.
Tekedra N. Mawakana is the co-CEO of Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company. As co-CEO, Tekedra oversees the company’s strategy for the wide adoption of the Waymo Driver. She boasts 20+ years of experience advising consumer technology companies to advance their business interests globally. Tekedra currently serves on the Board of Directors for Intuit and the Advisory Council for Boom Technology. She is a social impact-focused angel investor and an Advisor and LP with the Operator Collective.
Tekedra's Sessions
Taking AVs to the Next Level
Waymo Chief Operating Officer Tekedra Mawakana is at the center of Waymo’s future, from scaling the autonomous vehicle company’s commercial deployment and directing fleet operations to developing the company’s business path. Tekedra will speak about what lies ahead as Waymo drives forward with its plan to become a grownup business.
Celina Mikolajczak is the vice president of battery technology for Panasonic Energy of North America. In this role, Celina leads a team of more than 200 passionate engineers, analysts and other technical staff who work to continuously improve lithium-ion cell manufacturing and to bring the latest cell technologies to mass production for Tesla Motors, Inc. at the Gigafactory facility in Sparks, Nevada. Prior to joining Panasonic in 2019, she served as director of engineering focused on battery development for rideshare vehicles at Uber Technologies. There, she worked to develop battery packs for bicycles, scooters and aircraft. Before that, Celina worked at Tesla Motors as the senior manager for cell quality and materials engineering, helping to develop the battery cells and packs for Tesla’s Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Roadster Refresh. From 1999 to 2012 Celina developed a technical consulting practice at Exponent focusing on lithium-ion cell and battery safety and quality. She helped develop many safety and quality concepts that were initially applicable to consumer electronics battery packs but are now standard considerations for electric vehicle battery packs. Celina continues to be an active participant in development of fire codes and standards related to EVs, ESS, and battery production facilities. With more than 20 years of experience, Celina is a recognized leader in the lithium-ion industry. Her technological expertise, engineering background and leadership skills have been instrumental in ushering in milestones in battery technology production and efficiency. Celina is a member of the National Fire Protection Association and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Celina's Sessions
Building Better Battery Tech
Celina Mikolajczak, vice president of battery technology for Panasonic Energy of North America, and JB Straubel, co-founder and CEO of Redwood Materials, will dig into the state of battery tech, what it will take to meet growing demand while minimizing the environmental impact, and how their respective companies are working together.
Detlev von Platen was born in France in 1964 and grew up in Orléans near Paris. Following his Baccalauréat, he studied Business Administration and Business Management at the universities of Tours and Poitiers. After graduating, he joined BMW France in 1988 as Marketing Manager for the motorcycle division before moving to BMW AG in Munich in 1991, where he held various leading positions in sales and marketing. In 1997, von Platen came to Porsche AG. He first took over management of the Porsche brand in France; from 1999 as President and CEO of Porsche France. In April 2008, he was appointed President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America in the USA, where his achievements included opening “One Porsche Drive,” the combined North America headquarters and Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta. Since October 2015, Detlev von Platen has been Member of the Executive Board of Porsche AG for Sales and Marketing in Stuttgart.
Detlev's Sessions
The Electrification of Porsche
Porsche has undergone a major transformation in the past several years, investing billions into an electric vehicle program and launching the Taycan, its first all-electric vehicle. Now, Porsche is ramping up for more. Porsche AG’s Detlev von Platen will talk about Porsche’s path, competition and where it’s headed next.
Ryan Powell is the Head of UX Research & Design at Waymo, a self-driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to move around. At Waymo, Ryan oversees a talented group of researchers and designers taking a human-centered approach to designing the world’s first self-driving ride-hailing service. He is an accomplished design leader with deep experience in consumer products, and his passion for people, design, and the belief that technology can improve everyday life has been the driving force of his career. Ryan established Waymo’s UX design principles (transparency, freedom, and consistency), which guide the work his team does to build trust with riders through various visual and sound elements throughout their journey in a Waymo self-driving car. Prior to Waymo, Ryan led teams at Google, Samsung, Xbox, and Motorola. He is especially adept at helping organizations figure out how to create simple, delightful and differentiated experiences that appeal to consumers across a variety of global markets. Ryan earned a Master of Design from the IIT Institute of Design and a BS in Product Marketing from The Ohio State University.
Ryan's Sessions
Designing Driverless: A Look into the Waymo One Experience
Waymo’s Head of UX Research & Design, Ryan Powell, will provide insight into how his team has crafted the first fully driverless service experience in the world. He’ll address the unique challenges that come when there’s no human driver in the car, from communication to trust, and how design plays a key role in the solutions.
Trevor Pawl is the Chief Mobility Officer for the State of Michigan, and leads the Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification. In this position, Pawl is responsible for working across state government, academia and private industry to grow Michigan’s mobility ecosystem through strategic policy recommendations and new support services for companies focused on the future of transportation. Prior to this position, Pawl served as the Senior Vice President of Business Innovation at the MEDC, where he led the official state programs for mobility (PlanetM), supply chain assistance (Pure Michigan Business Connect), export assistance (Michigan International Trade program) and entrepreneurial assistance (Michigan Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program). Before joining the MEDC, Pawl brought with him experience in supply chain matchmaking, having led the creation of the economic development program, Connection Point, at the Detroit Regional Chamber, which later became Pure Michigan Business Connect. Trevor has been named Crain’s Detroit Business’s “40 Under 40” and “50 Names to Know in Government”. He’s also been named Development Counsellors International’s “40 Under 40 Rising Stars of Economic Development” and the Great Lakes Women’s Business Council’s “Government Advocate of the Year”. Pawl holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Marketing from Grand Valley State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Detroit Mercy.
Trevor's Sessions
Public-Private Partnerships: Advancing the Future of Mobility
The future of mobility and electrification starts with the next generation of transportation solutions. Attendees will hear from some of the most innovative names on opportunities that await when public and private entities team up to revolutionize the way we think about technology. Moderated by Trevor Pawl of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.
Prashanthi Raman has nearly 15 years of experience navigating challenging, highly charged, and complex political environments. As the Vice President of Global Government affairs for Cruise, an all-electric, autonomous vehicle company, she oversees public policy and regulatory issues for the company worldwide. Prior to Cruise, Prashanthi served as Head of State and Local Government Relations at Lyft, where she played a pivotal role in creating and expanding the ridesharing industry across North America. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and Chicago-Kent College of Law and received her Masters in Public Health from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Prashanthi's Sessions
Navigating Self-Driving Car Regulations
Autonomous vehicle developers face a patchwork of local, state and federal regulations. Government policy experts from Nuro, Aurora, Lyft and Cruise discuss how to get your startup back on the road safely.
Live Q&A: Navigating Self-Driving Car Regulations
Bring your questions to this live audience Q&A with the leaders in self-driving car regulations.
Pasquale Romano is President and Chief Executive Officer of ChargePoint and a member of the company’s board of directors. He currently sits on the board of the YMCA of Silicon Valley. Pasquale joined ChargePoint in February of 2011, bringing more than 30 years of technology industry leadership and executive management experience to the company. He co-founded 2Wire which was acquired by Pace plc for $475M in 2010. Previously, Pasquale held multiple positions in marketing and engineering at Polycom. In 1989, he co-founded Fluent, Inc., a digital video networking company and served as Chief Architect until it was sold to Novell Corporation in 1993. Pasquale holds an undergraduate degree in computer science from Harvard University and received his M.S. from MIT.
Pasquale's Sessions
Software is Revolutionizing the Driver Experience and Driving Mass Electrification
Software in EVs enables a shift from buying a car to investing in an experience. Hear how it’s driving adoption, revolutionizing behavior and keeping up with demand.
Peter Rawlinson is the Chief Technology Officer and VP of Lucid. He leads the outstanding team developing Lucid’s premium electric vehicle. Peter has over 30 years of vehicle engineering experience and is best known for developing the Tesla Model S. Formerly Vice President of Vehicle Engineering at Tesla and Chief Engineer of the Model S, Peter led the engineering of the Model S from clean-sheet to production readiness while simultaneously building a world class engineering team. Peter conceived of and implemented an innovative product development methodology enabling this process to occur in just three years. As a hands-on engineer, he also holds a significant proportion of the Model S vehicle patents. Prior to Tesla, Peter was Head of Vehicle Engineering at Corus Automotive, Chief Engineer at Lotus Cars, and Principal Engineer at Jaguar Cars. In these roles, Peter developed key innovations for Alcoa, Aston Martin, BMW, Daimler, Ford, GM, Audi, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lockheed Martin, and Prodrive. Peter holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, University of London.
Peter's Sessions
The Road to the All-Electric Air. Including live audience Q&A!
Just weeks after Lucid Motors unveils its long-anticipated all-electric luxury Air sedan, we’ll sit down with Peter Rawlinson to discuss the challenges of building a car company and assembling that first production vehicle as well as plans for the future. And bring your questions to be answered live by Peter!
Olaf is a founding partner at Maniv Mobility, a global fund investing in the leading mobility startups.
Olaf's Sessions
Investing in Mobility
Reilly Brennan, Amy Gu and Olaf Sakkers will come together to debate the uncertain future of mobility tech and whether VC dollars are enough to push the industry forward.
Live Q&A: Investing in Mobility
Bring your questions to this live Q&A session with some of the top investors in mobility.
Bryan is passionate about incorporating promising robotics technology into products and systems that will improve safety and productivity while enhancing people’s lives. While at Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC), Bryan managed a portfolio of the center’s largest commercial programs, including autonomous mining trucks for Caterpillar. In 2007, Bryan led software engineering for Tartan Racing, Carnegie Mellon’s winning entry in the DARPA Urban Challenge. Bryan departed NREC and joined the Google self-driving car team in 2011 to continue the push toward making self-driving cars a reality. While at Google, Bryan was responsible for the development and manufacture of their hardware portfolio, which included self-driving sensors, computers and several vehicle development programs. Bryan graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering in 2002.
Bryan's Sessions
Setting the Record Straight
Argo AI has gone from unknown startup to a company providing the autonomous vehicle technology to Ford and VW — not to mention billions in investment from the two global automakers. Co-founder and CEO Bryan Salesky will talk about the company’s journey, what’s next and what it really takes to commercialize autonomous vehicle technology.
Bret uses more than three decades of knowledge in the automotive industry to bring partnerships between Wejo and OEM’s to life. With technical and commercial experience from GM, VW and FCA, he is equally comfortable discussing trends in the mobility sector as he is in uncovering the mutual benefits of working together on a project. Born and raised in Pontiac Michigan, Bret is the product of several generations of car enthusiasts and can often be found under one of his classic cars. His knowledge of municipal operations has come from his service as City Commissioner in Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, where he now lives. Bret holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA specializing in Globalization from Lawrence Technological University.
Bret's Sessions
Driving the Mobility Revolution with Connected Car Data
Wejo’s VP of Partnerships, Bret Scott will speak about the future of mobility and how connected car data impacts the world of autonomous, electric and shared. wejo provides access to the largest set of connect car data in the U.S. through their exclusive automotive partnerships, changing the way we work, live and travel.
Dmitry Shevelenko is Co-Founder & President of Tortoise, an automated vehicle repositioning service for micromobility operators. Before starting Tortoise Dmitry was an adviser to leading mobility and future of work startups — Skip, SpotHero,Cargo, Superpedestrian, Remix, Payfare, and Codi. Prior to his advisory work, he took a 4-year ride at Uber as Director of Business Development. At Uber he initiated the company’s expansion into new mobility, including leadingthe JUMP partnership/ acquisition and Uber Transit. Dmitry spent time atFacebook, LinkedIn, and Pulse News earlier in his career. He is a graduate of Columbia University and lives in San Francisco with wife and 2 daughters.
Dmitry's Sessions
The Next Opportunities in Micromobility
Worldwide, numerous companies are operating shared micromobility services — so many that the industry is well into a consolidation phase. Despite the over-saturation of the market, there are still opportunities for new players. Danielle Harris, director of mobility innovation at Elemental Excelerator and Dmitry Shevelenko, founder at Tortoise, and Avra van der Zee, head of strategy and policy at Superpedestrian, will discuss.
Live Q&A: Next Opportunities in Micromobility
Bring your questions to this live Q&A session with the experts in micromobility.
Boris is the Co-founder and CEO of Bedrock Robotics, an SF-based company focused on enabling fully autonomous heavy machinery to drive improvements in the cost, schedule, safety, and predictability of projects. Before that, Boris was an executive at Waymo leading the autonomous trucking application and key core technologies in the push to launch autonomous cars to the public. Fully driverless cars in the Waymo One ride-hailing network have driven over 100M driverless miles at super-human levels of safety. Prior to this, Boris led a consumer robotics company, Anki, as they released innovative consumer entertainment products globally. Boris holds a PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University.
Boris's Sessions
The Future of Trucking
TuSimple co-founder and CTO Xiaodi Hou and Boris Sofman, former Anki Robotics founder and CEO who now leads Waymo’s trucking unit, will discuss the business and the technical challenges of autonomous trucking.
Margaret is the Head of Policy, Regulatory and Community Affairs at Wing where she leverages extensive private sector and government experience to pioneer new aviation use cases and improve opportunities for communities around the world. Prior to her time at Wing, Margaret was the Head of Americas Government Affairs at X: the Moonshot Factory and Yahoo! where she set public policy priorities and worked to advance and protect their business interests with governments. Margaret also served as the Assistant to the Vice President for Legislative Affairs where she was the Vice President’s top liaison to Congress and as the Director of Legislative Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, where she led the Administration’s legislative efforts on budget and appropriation bills.
Margaret's Sessions
Future of Cities: Delivery Takes Flight
Margaret Nagle, head of policy and public affairs at Wing, will talk about how drones used for delivery could reshape cities and improve accessibility.
Prior to founding Redwood, JB Co-founded Tesla and spent fifteen years as Chief Technology Officer where he built one of the best engineering teams in the world and, among many topics, led cell design, supply chain and the first Gigafactory concept through the production ramp of the Model 3. JB had a direct role in both R&D, team building and operational expansion from prototype cars through to mass production and GWh-scale.
JB's Sessions
Life After Tesla
JB Straubel might be best known as Tesla’s co-founder and former CTO who was responsible for some of the company’s most important technology, notably around batteries. But Straubel is hardly finished. He launched his own recycling startup called Redwood Materials that is focused on creating a circular supply chain and recently named Amazon and Panasonic as customers. We’ll sit down with Straubel to talk about his latest venture, time at Tesla and of course, battery technology and the state of the electric vehicles.
Building Better Battery Tech
Celina Mikolajczak, vice president of battery technology for Panasonic Energy of North America, and JB Straubel, co-founder and CEO of Redwood Materials, will dig into the state of battery tech, what it will take to meet growing demand while minimizing the environmental impact, and how their respective companies are working together.
Nancy Sun is the Co-Founder and Chief Engineer of Ike, an automated trucking startup building cutting-edge automation technology to help improve the trucking industry in the safest way possible. Prior to founding Ike, Nancy was the Engineering Lead for the self-driving truck program at Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group, which she joined via the Otto acquisition in 2016. Nancy’s deep expertise in systems engineering and transportation extends beyond Uber to Apple, where she was an Engineering Manager for their Special Projects Group, and electric motorcycle startup Mission Motors, where she was the VP of Advanced Development. Nancy has bachelors and masters degrees in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and it was during her years at MIT that she first developed a love of robotics.
Nancy's Sessions
Building an AV Startup
Ike co-founder and chief engineer Nancy Sun will share her experiences in the world of automation and robotics, a ride that has taken her from Apple to Otto and Uber before she set off to start a self-driving truck company. Sun will discuss what the future holds for trucking and the challenges and the secrets behind building a successful mobility startup.
Shin-pei Tsay is Director of Policy for Cities and Transportation in Uber’s Central Policy team. Shin-pei comes from a diverse background, with a focus on transforming the built environment so that it is more accessible, equitable, and sustainable around the globe. In her current role at Uber, she leads a team of issues experts that contribute to creating a sustainable, multi-modal urban future. Prior to joining Uber’s team, she founded Make Public, a social impact analysis firm that specializes in the public realm. Shin-pei was also the deputy executive director of TransitCenter, a national foundation focused on improving urban transportation. As the second person hired, she contributed to growing the organization, led initiatives in strategy, research, and program development, managed transportation and technology program activities, and provided program, operational, and staff oversight. Shin-pei founded and directed the Cities and Transportation Program under the Energy and Climate Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she explored demand-side policies to mitigate climate change and led a project with Senator Bill Bradley and Secretary Tom Ridge to reform and fund the federal transportation program. For the last four years, Shin-pei served as a Commissioner for the City of New York Public Design Commission. She is on the Board of the national non-profit In Our Backyard. She received a BA with distinction from Cornell University and an MSc in City, Space, and Society from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Shin-pei's Sessions
Uber's City Footprint
Uber’s operations touch upon many aspects of the transportation ecosystem. Whether its autonomous vehicles, food delivery, trucking or traditional ride-hailing, these products and services all require Uber to interact with cities and ensure the company is on the good side of cities. That’s where Shin-pei Tsay comes in. Hear from Tsay about how she thinks through Uber’s place in cities and how she navigates various regulatory frameworks.
Rebecca Yeung leads the Operations Science and Advanced Technology (OSAT) department at FedEx Corporation. Her primary responsibilities are to scale up robotics and automation, establish a robust autonomous vehicle portfolio, and create business values in safety, efficiency, service, and sustainability. She is passionate about technology and has spent more than a decade fully absorbing the latest and greatest knowledge to build deep expertise in robotics, AV, EV, and digital platform economy. She is fully invested in transportation and logistics and has spent more than two decades learning everyaspect of FedEx business and network operations. These rare hybrid skills are a powerful combination, enabling her to be well-versed both in technology, andhow technology translates into business impact. Rebecca holds an MBA from the University of Maryland–College Park and has a bachelor’s degree from Fudan University in China. She started her career at FedEx as an MBA Intern in 1998. Today, Rebecca is a seasoned executive and a member of the FedEx Strategic Management Committee, a select group of the company’s top leadership, which sets the strategic direction for the enterprise.
Rebecca's Sessions
The Changing Face of Delivery
Small startups and logistics giants alike are working on how to use automated vehicle technology and robotics for delivery. Matthew Johnson-Roberson, co-founder of Refraction AI, Ali Kashani, the VP of Special Projects at Postmates will talk about the challenges and opportunities of using robots for delivery.
Avra van der Zee is an innovation-minded leader, change agent, and sustainability advocate who advises social impact companies across all stages of growth. She was Chief Strategy Officer and GC of JUMP, leading the mobility company’s growth from seed stage to strategic acquisition by Uber. Following the sale, she ran global market entry for Uber’s New Mobility division, successfully launching electric bikes and scooters in dozens of markets. Avra recently joined Superpedestrian as the VP of Strategy and Policy where she’ll oversee expansion and partnerships, bringing the company’s sustainable and intelligent electric vehicles to city streets across the globe.
Avra's Sessions
The Next Opportunities in Micromobility
Worldwide, numerous companies are operating shared micromobility services — so many that the industry is well into a consolidation phase. Despite the over-saturation of the market, there are still opportunities for new players. Danielle Harris, director of mobility innovation at Elemental Excelerator and Dmitry Shevelenko, founder at Tortoise, and Avra van der Zee, head of strategy and policy at Superpedestrian, will discuss.
Live Q&A: Next Opportunities in Micromobility
Bring your questions to this live Q&A session with the experts in micromobility.