Twenty-five young and talented automotive executives have been honored as Rising Stars within the automotive industry by Automotive News Europe.
A gala awards dinner to celebrate the 2021 Rising Stars winners was held Sept. 6 and will be able to be viewed on the Automotive News Europe Rising Stars website by Sept. 10.
Since the program was started in 2011, Automotive News Europe has awarded more than 200 Rising Stars.
The 11th 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 e-commerce, each Rising Star has spearheaded change and made progress up the career ladder.
The 2021 Rising Stars are (listed in alphabetical order base on award):
Ronald Hoedemakers -- Toyota Europe -- Aftersales
Syed Shahrukh Kazmi -- Aptiv -- Autonomous & Automated Driving
Sarah Pelling -- Ineos Automotive -- Communications
Punitha Sinnapan -- Cubic Telecom -- Connected Car
Stefanie Paetow -- Audi -- CRM
Julie Schwieder -- Toyota Europe -- Design
Diana Banozic -- Volvo Cars -- Digital
Daniele De Leonardis -- Stellantis -- Digital
Myriam Verges -- Stellantis -- e-Commerce
Timothy D’Herde -- Toyota Europe -- Electrification
Stefan Fischer -- Bentley -- Engineering
Daniel Barel -- REE Automotive -- Entrepreneur
Johannes Scharf -- FEV Europe -- General Management
Nicola Johnson -- Bentley -- Human Resources
Sergio Grunder -- DuPont -- Innovation
Michael Spode -- Dana -- Manufacturing
Philipp Sayler von Amende -- carwow -- Marketing
Rob Jolly -- Onto -- Mobility Service
Bouchra Le Hir -- SKF -- Product Management
Daniel Wehsarg -- Hella -- Purchasing
Nadine Voronich -- Pirelli -- Quality
Alexander Lutz -- Polestar -- Sales
Piotr Pawlak -- Ford -- Sales
Kunal Chandra -- Siemens Mobility -- Shared Mobility
Julian Fieres -- ZF Group -- Transformation & Digitalization
To see their full profiles, please click here.
"The 25 people who we honor this year have overcome unprecedented professional and personal challenges during and after the pandemic. The flexibility and talent they have shown during such difficult times is remarkable. They are helping to lead the auto industry into a new era," Automotive News Europe Associate Publisher & Editor Luca Ciferri said. "We have recognized more than 200 people as Rising Stars in the last 11 years and many of them are guiding our industry through its most dramatic transition in more than a century. We expect this year's group of winners to do the same in the years to come."
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.
