The Detroit Auto Show today announced the roster of speakers for the inaugural Mobility Global Forum held during Media and Technology Days, Sept. 13 -14. The Forum will feature perspectives from 30+ thought leaders in mobility, design and technology, including New York Times best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell. Held in Detroit at Huntington Place, the Detroit Auto Show runs from Sept. 13 – 24.

2023 Mobility Global Forum Speaker Schedule | Schedule and updates available at naias.com.  Speakers/times subject to change.

Wednesday, September 13 Main Show Floor Stage

AIR

Rani Plaut, CEO, “Aviation and Automotive – Closing the Gap.”

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm

Pininfarina SpA

Silvio Pietro Angori, CEO & MD, “How Design is Shaping the Future of Car Design.” Presented by the Consulate of Italy.

1:00 pm – 1:45 pm

Have Blue, Ganassi Racing, Troy Lee Designs and Dallara US

John Waraniak with guests Chip Ganassi, Troy Lee and Stefano De Ponti, “Sustainable Growth and Innovation Through Design and Racing.”

2:00 pm – 2:45 pm

Alef Aeronautics

Jim Dukhovny, CEO, “The First Real Flying Car in History.” (Location: Alef Display on the main show floor)

2:00 pm – 2:45 pm

EyesOn Design Awards

EyesOn Design Awards

3:00 pm – 3:45 pm

Google

Thomais Zaremba, Managing Director Automotive, will lead a panel discussion with Bryan Goodman, Ford – Chief Data Scientist, and Donald Chesnut, GM – Chief Customer Experience Officer, to discuss “AI’s impact across the Automotive Value Chain.”

4:00 pm – 4:45 pm

Cox Automotive

Joe George, President Mobility Solutions; and Lea Malloy, Head of EV Battery Solutions, “Taking Charge of the EV Battery Lifecycle”

5:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Wednesday, September 13 AutoMobili-D Stage

Plante Moran

Mark Barrott, Partner and Lead of the Mobility and Automotive Practice at Plante Moran, will host a fireside chat with Jeff Marootian, Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, discussing “Accelerating the Transition to a Sustainable Future.”

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm

BBB Industries

John Boyer, President, TerrePower, BBB Industries; and Maria Caballero, President e-Mobility, BBB Industries, sharing perspectives on “Sustainable Manufacturing of Components Driving Our Clean Energy and Mobility Future.”

1:00 pm – 1:45 pm

MEDC

Moderator Brad Garmon, Senior Strategic Advisor & Executive Director, Michigan Outdoor Recreation Industry Office with panelists Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Dave Ollila, Founder and CEO, Shophouse Park, Michelle Erikson, Investor, Plymouth Growth Partners, Devon Vanoostveen, Brand Marketing Manager, Merrell discussing “The Opportunity Outdoors: A Leadership Moment for Michigan Outdoor Rec Industry.”

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm

MEDC

Moderator Justine Johnson, Chief Mobility Officer, State of Michigan with panelists Stefan Tongur, VP, Electreon, Deeana Ahmed, Chief Strategy Officer, Our Next Energy – ONE, Natalie King, CEO, Dunamis Charge & Dunamis Clean Energy, and Pina Bennett, Director, Electric Marketing, DTE Energy discussing “The Michigan Electrification Landscape: Technology Innovation and the Future of Mobility.”

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Society of Automotive Analysts (SAA)

Kevin Sehlmeyer, Michigan State Fire Marshal, Michael O’Brian, Fire Chief, Brighton Area Fire Authority, Todd Brigmon, Electric Vehicle Occupational Safety Team Leader, General Motors, Victoria Hutchison, Senior Research Project Manager, NFPA Research Foundation, Ron Butler, CEO of Energy Storage Safety Products International, and Lisa Lark, vice president of Lark Logistics, discussing “EV Fires: Changing Perspective Collaboratively”

3:15 pm – 4:00 pm

Michigan Treatment Court

Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, Michigan Supreme Court, as moderator and panelists Judge Karen Khalil, 17th District Veterans Treatment Court Presiding Judge, Wayne County & MATCP Board Member; Judge Shannon Holmes, 36th District Treatment Courts Presiding Judge, Wayne County & MATCP Board Member; Jamaine Atkins, Certified Peer Recovery Coach, Growth Works, Inc. & MATCP Board Member discuss “Driving Change Exploring Michigan’s Treatment Courts.”

4:15 pm – 5:00 pm

Electric Vehicle Association

Moderator Chris Harto, Senior Policy Analyst, Transportation and Energy at Consumer Reports with panelists Elaine Borseth, President of EVA, and Cachavious (Chay) English, Policy Strategist and Managing Counsel at Ford Motor Company, discussing “Affordability of Electric Vehicles and the EV Driver Experience.”

5:15 pm – 6:00 pm

Coalition for Reimagined Mobility

Allanté Whitmore, Ph.D., Director, Autonomous Vehicle Initiative, Coalition for Reimagined Mobility, “Closing the Gap: Achieving More Equitable Outcomes with Autonomous Vehicles.”

6:15 pm – 7:00 pm

Thursday, September 14 Main Show Floor Stage

AlixPartners LLP

Mark Wakefield, Global Co-Leader of the Automotive & Industrial Practice, “So, Are you really Prepared for the Mobility Revolution?”

9:00 am – 9:45 am

Powering Michigan

Moderator: Carol Cain, Senior Producer/ Host of CBS Detroit’s Michigan Matters & Columnist – Detroit Free Press, Panelists: Jennifer Mefford, National Co-Chair, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP), David Etzwiler, CEO Siemens Foundation, and Greg Sowder, President, Qmerit Network discussing “The Future is Electric: EV Infrastructure Workforce Readiness, Key Workforce Investments and Talent Attraction.”

10:00 am – 10:45 am

Malcolm Gladwell

New York Times best-selling author, industry observer, futurist. A fireside chat with John McElroy, host of Autoline. Presented by Powering Michigan – IBEW 58 & NECA.

11:00 am – 11:45 am

Boston Consulting Group

Brian Collie, Managing Director & Senior Partner, Theodore (Ted) Miller, Senior Manager, Battery Cell Research and Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Company, Robert (Bob) Reppa, Senior VP Strategy and Innovation, LKQ Corporation, and Deeana Ahmed, PhD | Chief Strategy Officer, Our Next Energy (ONE) “EV Industry in North America Needs a Domestic Battery Supply Chain.”

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm

MICHauto

Glenn Stevens Jr., Executive Director MICHauto; Vice President, Automotive and Mobility Initiatives, Detroit Regional Chamber, hosts panel discussion, “MICHauto: You Drive the Future.” Featuring the You Drive the Future campaign, guests share stories about their work, motivation, and commitment to the industry’s future.

1:00 pm – 1:45 pm

Detroit Regional Partnership

Maureen Donohue-Krauss, President & CEO of the Detroit Regional Partnership to moderate a panel entitled “The Future of Global Mobility Drives Through Detroit” with three leading mobility executives speaking about their companies’ roles in shaping the future of mobility, how the industry is changing, and why they located in the Detroit region.

2:00 pm – 2:45 pm

Kiefer Foundation

Steve Kiefer, Chairman, “Distracted Driving and Recent Vehicle Safety Legislation.”

3:00 pm – 3:45 pm

City of Detroit

Tim Slusser, Chief of Mobility Innovation, discussing “Sustainability and Mobility Initiatives” with a representative from the US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.

4:00 pm – 4:45 pm

Plug and Play Detroit Pitch Competition

Plug and Play Detroit Pitch Competition

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Thursday, September 14 AutoMobili-D Stage

Google

Haris Ramic, Director Product Management Automotive, will lead a panel discussion with Sanjay Lal, Rivian – VP Software Platform, and Mark Granger, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc – Senior Director, Product Management, to discuss “Evolution of In-Vehicle Experiences.

9:00 am – 9:45 am

American Iron and Steel Institute

Chris Kristock, VP AISI Automotive Program, will introduce moderator Sam Abuelsamid, from Guidehouse Insights, who will lead a panel discussion of steel industry thought leadership on the virtues and advantages of modern steel grades that contribute to efficient automotive manufacturing of body structures and closures.

10:00 am – 10:45 am

Break

Break

11:00 am – 11:45 am

Schaeffler

Jeff Hemphill, CTO Americas, “How Innovation Flattens Roadblocks”

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm

Apex.AI

Dr. Jan Becker, CEO & Founder, Apex.AI “Software is Eating the (Automotive) World — But What if Cars Would be as Easy to Program as Smartphones are Today?”

1:00 pm – 1:45 pm

MEDC

Moderator Zoe Clark, Michigan Radio with panelists Ali Abolmaali, Ph.D., Dean, College of Engineering, Wayne State University, Judd Herzer, Director of Mobility, Michigan State University, and Henry Liu, Ph.D., Director of Mcity, University of Michigan discussing “Michigan’s University Research Corridor: Developing the Mobility Talent and Innovations of Tomorrow.”

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm

MEDC

Mark da Silva, Senior Director of SEMI Smart Manufacturing discussing “SEMI, Our Mobility initiatives, Semiconductor for Automotive, New Midwest Chapter.”

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Shamir

Phil Pasit, VP of Marketing and Sébastien Bourdais former F1 driver discussing “A Revolution on the Road: Meet the Next Generation of Driving Lenses, Shamir Driver Intelligence.”

3:15 pm – 4:00 pm

American Center for Mobility

Reuben Sarkar, President and CEO, “Connected Cars, Safety, EV Charging and Sustainability.”

4:15 pm – 5:00 pm

Walker-Miller Energy Services

Moderator Carla Walker-Miller, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Walker-Miller Energy Services with Deeana Ahmed, Chief Strategy Officer at Our Next Energy(ONE) discussing “Driving the Future with Equitable Clean Mobility”.

5:15 pm – 6:00 pm

The Mobility Global Forum would like to thank its association supporters, including the Detroit Economic Club, the Detroit Chamber, the Detroit Regional Partnership and MICHauto.

Technology Days tickets enable daily access to the Mobility Global Forum and are available for purchase at $75/person, per day. Technology Day tickets on Sept. 14 allow access to the Gladwell presentation. Visit naias.com/buy-tickets.  Media Day credentials are available for qualified journalists and can be applied for at naias.com/media

ABOUT THE DETROIT AUTO SHOW:

The Detroit Auto Show is one of the most influential annual automotive events in the world and a showcase for emerging technologies.  The iconic show features brand-defining vehicles, product ride-and-drives and dynamic experiential activations.  The event includes: Media Day, an opportunity for automakers and industry suppliers to debut new products and technologies; Technology Days, a chance to preview emerging mobility technologies and engage with innovators; Mobility Global Forum, a two-day symposium on mobility trends and new technologies; AutoMobili-D, an inside look at future mobility platforms; Charity Preview, a signature fundraising gala for children’s charities; and the Public Show, a nine-day mobility and community celebration.  For more information, visit naias.com.

DATES FOR THE DETROIT AUTO SHOW:

  • Media Day, Wednesday, Sept. 13
  • Technology Days and AutoMobili-D, Wednesday, Sept. 13 and Thursday, Sept. 14
  • Mobility Global Forum, Wednesday, Sept. 13 and Thursday, Sept. 14
  • Charity Preview, Friday, Sept. 15
  • Public Show, Saturday, Sept. 16 through Sunday, Sept. 24
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