Interviews
“Better battery intelligence does not start in the cloud. It starts with better measurement inside the pack – it starts with the cell.”
Joseph is an accomplished technology industry executive with over 30 years of international leadership experience across automotive, semiconductor and advanced technology industries. He has successfully led business and market development, strategy, R&D, and worldwide sales organizations, and has extensive international experience across the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe.
“An affordable vehicle isn’t the one with the most technology - it’s the one people can afford to buy and keep.”
Pedro Chavez Jr. is the founder and CEO of Voltarium LLC and teaches systems architecture at the University of Detroit Mercy. He has more than twenty years of experience in automotive, defense, electrification, and energy, including engineering leadership and vehicle development. A U.S. Army veteran, Pedro brings a perspective to how products are designed, built, and used. His work connects systems thinking with customer needs, affordability, and business decisions. He also leads the Phoenix Foundation, supporting veterans and first responders.
“Trustworthy ADAS emerges from coordinated perception, prediction, control, driver monitoring and cybersecurity - validated as one safety system”.
Dr. Unmendu Senapati is a senior automotive technology and programme leader with more than 25 years of experience across ADAS, infotainment, connectivity, telematics, embedded vehicle platforms, high-performance computing, industrialisation and product delivery. He holds a PhD focused on AI-based predictive modelling and safety analysis. Having worked with Bosch and Valeo, he combines research insight with hands-on industry leadership. He is also an industry speaker and contributor on automotive electronics, software-defined vehicles, manufacturing innovation, functional safety and cross-domain technology strategy globally.
“Autonomy removes the driver as the primary architectural constraint; Passenger-Defined Vehicle architecture establishes the passenger as the primary architectural reference”.
Shalin James Anto is the Founder and CEO of PLIYT, Inc. and the originator of the Passenger-Defined Vehicle (PDV) architectural framework. With over sixteen years of automotive R&D experience across vehicle systems and automated driving, he formalizes the transition from driver-defined mobility to the post-driver era. At PLIYT, Shalin leads ground-up implementations of PDV principles for individualized autonomous shared mobility, engineering platforms centered on spatial privacy, natural access, and passenger sovereignty.
“Perception tells the vehicle what is around it. Absolute positioning tells it exactly where it is.”
Former Rokubun co-founder and CEO, Xavier is a Navigation Engineer and Product Manager with 20+ years’ experience in downstream satellite navigation for mass-market applications. Educated in Telecommunications Engineering and ICT research, with a Master in Project Management, his career spans academia, ESA-ESTEC, and leading European space companies. He now serves as Strategic Marketing Manager at Trimble Inc.
“From horsepower to intelligence: off-highway mobility is becoming software-defined.”
Ty Kim leads corporate strategy and global business development at KyungWoo Systech, advancing next-generation E/E architecture, digitalization, and Edge AI for off-highway vehicles. Previously, he led digital and software initiatives at Ricardo and connected vehicle programs at Wind River, specializing in embedded systems, digital transformation, and functional safety and cybersecurity.
"When proven automotive engineering meets human physiology, we can rethink what's possible in healthcare."
Dr. Nicola Gerrett is Senior Director of Research & Medical at Gentherm, where she leads research focused on thermophysiology, human perception, and patient-centered thermal management technologies. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Ergonomics from Loughborough University and has more than a decade of experience translating scientific research into innovative healthcare and wellness solutions.
"In automotive repair, trust is no longer earned by fixing vehicles—it's earned by building customer confidence."
Chris Freter is an automotive operation executive with extensive experience leading multi-location service organizations. He is passionate about technician development, operational excellence, customer communication, and leadership. His work focuses on building trust through transparency while helping modern automotive repair businesses improve performance, culture, and the overall customer experience.
