If a list was being made of the most visionary CEOs in the automotive industry Elon Musk would certainly be on it.
Joining the Tesla boss at the top of the ranking would be two European car bosses: Volvo's Hakan Samuelsson and Daimler's Ola Kallenius.
That is the feedback Automotive News Europe received when we asked the head of a leading technology supplier to name the vehicle makers other than Tesla that were doing the best job transforming their companies into software powerhouses.
"I think Hakan and Ola are the most aggressive and the most determined to take their companies to the next chapter," the executive said, preferring to remain anonymous because his company works with most automakers and he didn't want to appear to be playing favorites.
The executive praised Samuelsson's "fresh mind" and his ability to learn "so deeply and so quickly."
"He recognizes that the automotive industry needs to become a technology industry not a machinery industry," the executive added.
Kallenius, 51, who like Samuelsson, 69, is a native of Sweden, earned praise for embracing the possibilities that computerizing the car presents.
Said the executive: "The two of them will undoubtedly succeed in this transition."
Volvo, Daimler CEOs praised for leading push to computerize cars
Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson (left) and Daimler chief Ola Kallenius have earned his praise for their openness to technology.
