Twenty young and talented automotive executives have been honored as Rising Stars within the automotive industry by Automotive News Europe.
A virtual award ceremony to celebrate the 2020 Rising Stars winners took Tuesday evening and can be viewed on the Automotive News Europe Rising Stars website.
Since the program was started in 2011, Automotive News Europe has awarded nearly 180 Rising Stars.
The 10th annual Rising Stars awards recognize fast-climbing auto leaders who are already taking big steps forward in the industry. From automakers to suppliers, manufacturing to connected cars, engineering to sales, each Rising Star has spearheaded change and made progress up the career ladder.
The 2020 Rising Stars are:
Susanne Hagglund -- Volvo Cars -- Aftersales
Juergen Mueller -- Robert Bosch -- Autonomous Driving
Sylvia Neubauer -- BMW Group -- Big Data
Saadia Ajana -- Symbio -- Clean Mobility
Andrea Kollmorgen -- Siemens -- E-Mobility
Annika Ratte-Front -- Continental -- Engineering
Nils Wollny -- holoride -- Entrepreneur
Onofrio Defina -- UFI Filters -- General Management
Irina Gorbacheva -- Toyota Russia -- General Management
Emmanuel Levrat -- PSA Group -- IT
Pedro Buil Laguarta -- Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile -- Manufacturing
Leigh Smith -- Jaguar Land Rover -- Manufacturing
Xavier Martinet -- Renault -- Marketing
Pablo Martinez Masip -- Kia Europe -- Marketing
Gregory Duconge -- Vulog -- Mobility Services
Eric Frappier -- Sogefi -- Purchasing
Piera Giusti -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles -- Purchasing
Agustin Lopez-Diaz -- Faurecia -- Quality
Ibtissam Aziz Bury -- Faurecia -- Sales
Luca Magnotta -- Marelli Electronics -- Sales
"These 20 people possess the flexibility and talent needed to lead the auto industry into this difficult transition. We need them more than ever because fresh ideas will play a pivotal role in helping the industry adapt to a "new normal" that today is still difficult to properly assess," Automotive News Europe Associate Publisher & Editor Luca Ciferri said. "We have recognized nearly 160 people as Rising Stars in the last nine years and many of them are now in positions that allow them to lead our industry during this challenging period. We expect the same success for this year’s Rising Stars."
The prestigious Automotive News Europe Rising Stars awards are jointly presented with our exclusive lead sponsor, Capgemini, our partner, Mercuri Urval, and platinum sponsor Brembo. Each winner received a trophy designed by Pininfarina.
A Rising Star is an executive with a pan-European profile working in the automotive, or other industries helping to drive the future of mobility, who has driven change, fostered innovation and made courageous decisions.
To qualify, candidates should have a minimum of 10 years of work experience, have multiple language skills and be 45 years or younger. Nominations are accepted from automakers, suppliers, automotive service and mobility providers and retail/aftersales businesses.
