2023 Automotive News Rising Stars

Problem-solvers prove themselves The 2023 class of Automotive News Rising Stars distinguished themselves by addressing some of the industry’s biggest challenges, from keeping parts moving and sales growing during the depths of essential-only work to driving electric vehicle production and adoption to developing the tools and systems needed for automated driving. They’ve proved themselves during an era of profound and sometimes unpredictable change — building a foundation for continued leadership. » See the 2022 Rising Stars list Ford Motor Co. Supply chain senior manager, global electrification edrive, power electronics and pack components Mallory Bandy Big Break: Being picked for a new purchasing leadership program that led to placement on Team Edison, a skunk works group that developed the Mustang Mach-E. Age: 39 Read More Magna International Senior manager of government affairs Dex Battista Big Break: Being given a national scope in managing government affairs for Magna, North America’s largest parts supplier, in 2017 Age: 35 Read More Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina Director, application delivery lead Ken Clerebout Big Break: An organizational restructure in 2019 presented an opportunity to move into management. Age: 41 Read More Nvidia Corp. Senior product manager for autonomous vehicle simulation Matt Cragun Big Break: Getting picked to help build a simulator in the early days of DRIVE Sim Age: 40 Read More Waymo Head of safety best practices Francesca Favaro Big Break: Getting chosen by her peers as one of only seven U.S. experts creating safety guidelines for the International Organization for Standardization Age: 36 Read More Our Next Energy Senior director of chief engineering Chris Hughes Big Break: Developing Samsung’s quotes and concepts for PHEV batteries for Stellantis’ Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Cherokee programs, winning the battery maker the contracts Age: 36 Read More Wilko Plastics President Bill Kozyra II Big Break: Leading the resurrection of a failing production facility by updating the equipment and leadership structure Age: 38 Read More Hyundai Motor America Director, retail operations Jen Cheng Lee Big Break: Working in market research early on sparked her love for data and integrating consumer needs into analysis. Age: 44 Read More Ultium Cells LLC Ohio Plant director Kareem Maine Big Break: Being promoted to manufacturing operations manager Age: 44 Read More Lear Corp. Plant manager Julius Martin Big Break: Ramping up three greenfield plants for Lear, one of the world's largest suppliers Age: 44 Read More Robert Bosch LLC Vice president, commercial plant manager Annekathrin Müller Big Break: Accelerating the rollout of the Super Cruise hands-free driving-assist technology and enhancing its features. Age: 40 Read More Gatik Chief technology officer Arjun Narang Big Break: In 2021, Narang oversaw the strategy and execution of a driverless truck deployment along a 7.1-mile delivery route between a retail warehoause and a Walmart retail location in Arkansas. It was the proof point that has led to frequent revenue-generating driverless deliveries. Age: 34 Read More Dana Inc. Vice president of light-vehicle EV engineering Giulio Ornella Big Break: Moving to the U.S. and leading Dana's global light-vehicle electrification engineering Age: 44 Read More Nissan North America Director, Manufacturing Strategy & Planning Office Matthew Overbay Big Break: Moving from process engineering to manufacturing Age: 41 Read More Mazda North American Operations Senior director, sales planning and supply chain innovation Bob Pan Big Break: Moving from Florida to the corporate office in California because he believed in the people who said it was the right thing to do Age: 42 Read More Honda Development and Manufacturing Human resource strategy and transformation leader Molly Popilowski Big Break: Stepping out of her comfort zone in purchasing to work on the manufacturing side Age: 43 Read More J.D. Power Director of strategic marketing — automotive Kris Rosychuk Big Break: Launch of a COVID-19 auto impact webinar series Age: 36 Read More Tesla Inc. Senior director, vehicle operations and manufacturing engineering Hrushikesh Sagar Big Break: His 2015 internship at Tesla's plant in Fremont, Calif. Age: 35 Read More Clarios Director of global product line leader Wei Song Big Break: Leading Clarios’ Smart AGM technology breakthrough to the market to address a long-standing technical challenge of the lead-acid battery Age: 41 Read More Stellantis North America Assembly optimization manager for stamping BranDee Tatum Big Break: Led creation of a maintenance plan at Trenton Engine Plant Age: 34 Read More General Motors Global vice president of customer care and aftersales Josh Tavel Big Break: Launching the Chevrolet Bolt Age: 44 Read More AEye Director of product management Indu Vijayan Big Break: Moving from a technical role into product management gave Vijayan a broad and comprehensive view on what it takes to make and sell a product. Age: 35 Read More Blink Charging Director of automotive business development Jeremy Watrous Big Break: Helped grow Blink Charging’s automotive sales to $70 million through August, up from $5 million in 2022. Age: 35 Read More Martinrea International Vice president of program management and manufacturing engineering Derek Yates Big Break: Having Martinrea give him the chance to run large-scale projects across many plants Age: 41 Read More

2023 Automotive News Rising Stars

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