Twenty-one young and talented automotive executives have been named as Rising Stars in the automotive industry by Automotive News Europe. The ninth annual Rising Stars awards recognize fast-climbing 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.
A number of this year’s winners stood out because they are at the forefront of the automotive industry’s rapid response to megatrends that include the shift toward new solutions for mobility, new ways to fuel cars – with electricity instead of fossil fuels – and new ways to travel in cars that will mean never touching a steering wheel.
Florian Stadler, BMW Group’s head of cell analysis, has been at the forefront of the German automaker’s move toward offering electrified powertrains. It has been an eye-opening experience seeing how difficult it is to get people to consider switching from long-established technologies to electric mobility. But it hasn’t discouraged him, it has inspired him. “I am currently leading a team of scientists. This is fantastic, especially since electric mobility is so future-oriented,” he told ANE. “I would love to push even further in this field.”
Automotive News Europe names the 2019 Rising Stars
This is the ninth year that the Automotive News Europe Rising Stars awards have been presented. Since 2011 more than 155 executives have been honored.
For more on the winners...
To see each 2019 Rising Star winner’s full profile, click here.
Erik Jivmark, who is chief digital officer of Volvo Car Mobility, the Swedish brand’s stand-alone business for on-demand access to cars, told ANE that megatrends such as the new way to access a vehicle are shaking up an industry that he believes has been somewhat protected for decades. “This brings exciting opportunities and a lot of possibilities to truly make a difference.”
Frederic Sipahi, who is CEO of Sogefi’s air & cooling and filtration business units, has a similar view. “For many years, things were stable, but it is clear that those days are over and many more changes are ahead,” he said. “It’s going to be fun.”
Angelika Sodian [now Angelika Berger-Sodian], who is managing director of Chinese startup brand Nio in the UK, added that, “It’s not about the auto industry anymore. It’s about new solutions for mobility that will improve people’s lives.”
Three of this year’s Rising Stars are entrepreneurs. Laszlo Kishonti is CEO at AImotive, which is working to bring a scalable and affordable software solution to the self-driving market. He left the mobile chip sector to start AImotive to develop artificial intelligence-based software for the rapidly growing self-driving market. What surprises him about the industry? “How much automotive companies still underestimate the importance of software in their value chains and in the creation of their vehicles,” he told ANE. “It seems that industry players haven’t learned from what happened on the mobile phone market in the last 10 years.”
Mathias Johansson, CEO and co-founder of Dirac Research, which has quickly established itself as a global leader in digital audio technology, provided an interesting prediction: “The big automakers of tomorrow will not be the same as today, which means the cars of tomorrow will be very different.”
The third entrepreneur, Marco Marlia, CEO and co-founder of MotorK, which has grown to become the largest digital automotive player in Europe, added that over the next five years, “We will witness a complete revolution, with changes that will be bigger than any we have seen over the last century.”
Rising Star fast facts
A Rising Star is an automotive executive with a pan-European profile 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 providers and retail/aftersales businesses. The Automotive News Europe Rising Stars awards are jointly presented with our exclusive lead sponsor, Capgemini, as well as our partner, Mercuri Urval, and platinum sponsor Brembo.
Amy Frascella, Land Rover’s chief designer for color and materials, aptly summed up what’s happening in the industry when she told ANE: “It is almost as if the future is arriving before the past has had a chance to catch up.” That is why one piece of advice she would give to someone considering joining the industry is to bring patience and perseverance because it takes time to bring a project from concept to production. “Therefore, it is important to take time to celebrate the achievements made along the way to delivering the end product,” she said.
For 21 up-and-coming executives one of those achievements is being part of the Rising Star Class of 2019. The winners will be honored during a gala ceremony in Gothenburg, Sweden, on May 21.
