Dick Alexander oversees business development efforts for Transdev North America and has helped the business grow to $1.6 billion in revenues over his 15-year tenure with the company.
Dick is responsible for developing partnerships with cities, counties and transit agencies to manage and operate public transit systems, ranging from small start-up projects, to large transportation entities. He is also responsible for business development opportunities in the Rail, Streetcar, Paratransit and On Demand divisions of the company.
Dick is deeply experienced in structuring business relationships and contracts client objectives to ensure high standards for quality, efficiency and passenger care. He leads many of the company’s strategic initiatives including innovative technology partnerships, service design and new product development.
Dick started his career in the transit industry as a transportation planner and later a system manager. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning and Design from the University of Cincinnati and a Master’s of Business Administration from Xavier University.
Jill Anderson is vice president of Customer Programs and Services at Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. She is responsible for leading SCE’s energy efficiency, demand response and clean self-generation program portfolios as well as customer strategy, marketing, ecommerce and strategic alliance functions.
Previously, Anderson was executive vice president and chief commercial officer at the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the country’s largest state power organization. She directed all wholesale and retail operations. She was responsible for sales, marketing, new products and technology, and energy efficiency programs. In this role, Anderson also oversaw the marketing of NYPA’s generation assets, trading, fuel operations, hedging and business development for new transmission and generation activities. Prior to serving in this position at NYPA, she led energy policy, sustainability, corporate communications, regulatory affairs and government relations departments at the organization.
Before joining NYPA, Anderson worked for Hess Corporation, leading global process improvement projects focused on revenue enhancement, cost reduction and environmental excellence, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts.
Anderson has also worked for Consolidated Edison Company of New York, leading teams responsible for natural gas and electric substation construction and operation, redesign of the distribution system to improve efficiency and integrate new technologies, and electricity and natural gas procurement.
Anderson received a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from Boston University.
Frances Anderton is Host of DnA: Design and Architecture, a weekly radio show broadcast on KCRW NPR station in Los Angeles, and online at kcrw.com/dna.
For many years she produced KCRW’s acclaimed current affairs shows, To The Point, and Which Way, LA?, hosted by Warren Olney.
Anderton and DnA producer Avishay Artsy recently produced Bridges and Walls, a series about the metaphorical and physical barriers and connections shaping life in California today; it was supported by the California Arts Council.
Anderton also curates events and exhibitions; these include Sink Or Swim: Designing For a Sea Change, a critically received exhibition about resilient architecture, shown from December 2014 to May 2015 at the Annenberg Space for Photography.
Anderton studied architecture at the Bartlett school in London and went on to become associate editor at The Architectural Review, which sent her in 1987 to report on new West Coast architecture in Los Angeles.
She later moved to LA and served as correspondent for the New York Times and Dwell magazine before founding DnA in 2002. Her books include Grand Illusion: A Story of Ambition, and its Limits, on LA’s Bunker Hill, based on a studio she co-taught with Frank Gehry and partners at USC School of Architecture.
She has received many awards for her work including the Esther McCoy 2010 Award for her work in educating the public about architecture and urbanism from USC School of Architecture’s Architectural Guild. She was SCI-Arc’s Honored Guest at its 2018 Main Event.
Christophe Arnaud is the Managing Director of Bolloré BlueSolutions UK and USA. He is responsible for the development of electric mobility and renewable energy storage solutions since July 2014.
In this role, Christophe developed and implemented the ‘London’ projects whose objectives are the deployment of a charging infrastructure for the use of all types of users of electric vehicles and the launch of a 100% electric car sharing service.
He is responsible for a USD100 million budget to deliver this unprecedented infrastructure and leads complex negotiations with private partners, local authorities and political influencers in London.
In addition to that, he is in charge of the BlueLA Electric Car Sharing Program that aims to provide low-income neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles with ultra-low emission transportation.
Previously, Christophe Arnaud worked for another part of the Group Bolloré, BlueSolutions in France and IER (2007-2014), which designs and sells solutions to manage the flow of passengers and baggage in airports and railway stations.
Christophe Arnaud began his career in the automotive industry as a product manager at Valeo and then joined Faurecia as sales manager in the “Automotive Seating” division (2004-2006).
Between 2006 and 2007, Christophe Arnaud was a financial consultant firm for Deloitte.
He graduated from Ecole Centrale Paris engineering school and Skema Business School.
Christophe enjoys mountaineering activities and climbed several peaks over 5000 m of altitude. He also practices paragliding, cycling and running.
Activist, expert in policy and regulation, Laura Ballesteros has a Bachelor in Policy Science from the Technological and Superior Studies Institute (Tec de Monterrey), and a Masters in Strategic Management and Direction of Innovation from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Carlos III in Madrid.
As a local congresswoman in Mexico City, she drafted and passed the Mobility Law in coordination with civil society organizations and the head of the government, Miguel Ángel Mancera. The law recognized mobility as a right and established pedestrians’ priority over other road users. Laura Ballesteros served as Undersecretary of Planning of the Mobility Secretariat of the Government of Mexico City, where she implemented the Mobility Law through a specialized public policy for active mobility, road safety and integrated transportation systems.
Her first act in post was to install Vision Zero in Mexico City as Government Road Safety Policy. The first step of this Vision Zero initiative was the New Transit Regulations of Mexico City in which Laura implemented the seven behaviors that save lives turning this instrument into a road safety manual for the citizens. These actions have led to a 18% reduction in deaths due to traffic events.
Chris Ballinger is former Chief Financial Officer and Director of Mobility Services for the Toyota Research Institute. He joined TRI in April 2017 following 14 years at Toyota Financial Services (TFS), where he served in a global leadership role as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Officer of Strategic Innovation, helping guide global TFS strategy to address future market trends and business model requirements. Prior to joining Toyota, Ballinger’s career stops included Providian Financial as Assistant Treasurer, Bank of America as Senior Vice President of Treasury, and Staff Economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisors under President Reagan.
Shailen P. Bhatt is President and CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), where he promotes policies that advance the development and deployment of intelligent transportation technologies throughout the United States.
Previously, Bhatt served as Executive Director for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), where he led the department in planning for and addressing Colorado’s transportation needs. Bhatt oversaw 3,300 employees statewide and an annual budget of approximately $1.4 billion, guiding an organization committed to becoming the best DOT in the country. During his tenure, CDOT launched the Road X program which is focused on deploying innovative technology solutions such as connected vehicles and teaming with the private sector to shape the future of transportation.
Prior to CDOT, he was Cabinet Secretary for the Delaware Department of Transportation, where he managed nearly a billion-dollar budget and 2,800 employees. During his tenure, he led the agency response to two hurricanes, introduced performance management to the agency, and reduced agency debt by 30% while delivering $2 billion in infrastructure improvements. He was also responsible for the Delaware Transit Corporation and the DMV. Bhatt also served as an Associate Administrator at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Bhatt is a respected leader in the transportation field. He previously served on the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Board of Directors and chaired the AASHTO Subcommittee on Transportation Systems Management and Operations (STSMO). He served as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE). In addition, Bhatt is a member of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Agenda Council on the Future of Automotive and Personal Transport. He also served as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the I-95 Corridor Coalition, Diamond State Port Corporation, Board of Directors, and is a former Commissioner for the Northeast Corridor Commission.
Bhatt graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Western Kentucky University. He is married with a wife and two daughters.
As Southern California Regional Director for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, Michelle Boehm oversees strategy, stakeholder outreach, and related elements of project development for over 300 miles of the planned all electric High Speed Rail system in the Southern California Region’s five project sections: Bakersfield to Palmdale, Palmdale to Burbank, Burbank to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Anaheim and Los Angeles to San Diego.
Michelle Boehm brings nearly 20 years of experience in both public and private sectors in transportation planning and policy analysis. Before joining the Authority, she was a Vice President with one of the largest Architectural and Engineering firms in the Country. In that role, Boehm was the regional manager responsible for overseeing business development, strategic planning, and public agency and community outreach for projects throughout Southern California.
Over the course of her career Boehm has proven her ability as an industry leader working with business and legislative stakeholders on the high-speed rail project, and as a business manager and strategic planner, having developed strategy for transportation, water, geotechnical, structural, and environmental engineering and planning practice development and projects.
Russ Brooks is the Director of Smart Cities for Transportation for America. In 2016, Russ launched the Smart Cities Collaborative – a peer to peer learning network that brings together leading-edge cities to explore how technology can improve urban mobility and tackle the challenges related to advancing smart mobility policies and projects. Participant cities in the Collaborative receive direct technical assistance, develop policies, launch pilot projects and share their experiences with the rest of the Collaborative to drive best practices.
Before launching the Collaborative, Russ was T4America’s Deputy Director and founded the Urbanful project, a startup launched to support small-batch manufacturers and local businesses with profits going to support Smart Growth America’s work. Prior to joining T4America, Russ served as the National Director for CABT, an organization focused on freight and highway safety, and was responsible for strategizing, planning and implementing their state and federal policy agenda as well as managing the organization’s field staff.
Richard was appointed Director of Energy, Technology and Innovation at the UK’s Department for Transport in August 2016. He leads on policy to move the nation’s road transport onto a more sustainable footing, and maximising the economic opportunities for the UK from the move to future mobility. He is the lead Director for the UK Government’s Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy.
His teams direct and deliver UK-wide policies and programmes worth around £1bn on low and ultra-low emission vehicles, low carbon fuels, air quality, putting innovative new technology on the roads, overseeing related Government R&D expenditure and international negotiation of regulations on vehicle safety and emissions. There is a particular current focus on creating an attractive regulatory and R&D environment for connected and automated vehicle technology in the UK and on making the UK the best place in the world to do transport digitally.
Prior to this role Richard spent four years as head of the UK’s Office of Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV), delivering Government support for the early market for ultra-low emission vehicles and overseeing a period of unprecedented growth in plug-in vehicle uptake. Richard has also held various roles in the UK Senior Civil Service including DfT’s head of Corporate Governance, leading on smart and integrated ticketing; and as Director of Regional Resilience.
Before joining the civil service he worked at Unilever and at Andersen Consulting. Richard has BA in Industrial Economics and MPhil in the economics of motor vehicle pollution from the University Of Nottingham. Richard is married with two children and lives in London. He gets around by bicycle, Nissan Leaf and campervan.
Harry Campbell is CEO and founder of The Rideshare Guy, a media business that covers the rideshare industry and is one of the top content destinations for Uber and Lyft drivers, and gig workers around the world. Harry has quickly established himself as a rideshare and mobility expert with appearances in hundreds of media publications and his site is trafficked by close to a million visitors every single month. His latest book, The Rideshare Guide teaches drivers everything they need to know about driving for Uber, Lyft and other ridesharing companies.
Ellie Casson is the Head of Local Public Policy for Waymo (formerly the Google Self Driving Car Project). Prior to joining Waymo, Ellie served on the Public Policy Team at Airbnb, as Silicon Valley Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s Campaign Manager, and as a Community Organizer for the Bay Area environmental organization Greenbelt Alliance.
Outside of work, Ellie serves as a Delegate to the California Democratic Party and is involved in affordable housing advocacy. Ellie holds a bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Urban Planning from Hampshire College.
She lives in Oakland with her husband and daughter.
Tilly Chang serves as Executive Director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. As the Congestion Management Agency and transportation sales tax administrator for San Francisco, the Transportation Authority collaborates with public agencies and the private sector to improve transportation options for residents, commuters and visitors alike. Ms. Chang has two decades of experience, including serving previously as the Transportation Authority’s Deputy Director for Planning. Ms. Chang has also held posts with the World Bank, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and a technology startup. She serves on the boards of the California Transportation Foundation, SPUR and the UC Transportation Centers.
Dr. Chernicoff is currently the Senior Manager of Global Research and Innovation for the Toyota Mobility Foundation. He defines and coordinates the foundation’s research agenda, providing technology guidance to projects. With both near- and long-term perspectives, Dr. Chernicoff helps conceive new technology approaches that enable and improve the solutions implemented by the foundation and its partners. He brings a strong background across energy, technology, mobility, and climate policy from his prior work as a Manager and Principle Researcher with Toyota North America’s Energy & Environmental Research Group and his eight years with the US DOT’s Research Administration.
Dr. Chernicoff earned a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering at M.I.T., a Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at the George Washington University.
Tiffany Chu is a designer, planner, and founder at Remix. She and her team of 60, based in San Francisco and Amsterdam, are working with over 300+ cities around the world to plan their transportation future. She’s passionate about building livable cities and creating impact through user-centered design and technology. She has been named in Forbes’ 30 Under 30, LinkedIn’s Next Wave of Leaders Under 35 in Government, Curbed’s Young Guns, and has spoken at SXSW, Helsinki Design Week, and the New York Times Cities for TomorrowConference.
Previously, Tiffany was a Fellow at Code for America, partnering with the City of Charlotte to launch their first open data initiative. Tiffany is also an alum of Y Combinator, was the first user experience designer at Zipcar, wrote for Dwell, and studied architecture and urban planning at MIT. She hopes to never own a car during her lifetime.
Regina is the CEO and co-founder of Populus, a data platform for private mobility operators and cities to deliver safer, more efficient streets. Regina has over a decade of experience in transportation, where she is a leading expert on innovations in public transit, shared mobility, and autonomous vehicles. She formed Populus after serving in executive roles at a Ford Smart Mobility investment and moovel, the mobility services arm of Daimler.
Prior to her roles in industry, Regina received her Ph.D. in transportation and energy systems from MIT. As a research scientist at Stanford and UC Berkeley, she developed and led research on the travel behavior impacts of shared mobility services (e.g. Uber, microtransit) and autonomous vehicles. Regina was the lead author of the recent groundbreaking study Disruptive Transportation: The Adoption, Utilization, and Impacts of Ride-Hailing in the United States. She has received several awards and distinctions, including: National Engineers Week “New Face of Engineering”, EPA STARS Fellow, MIT Energy Fellow, and Department of Transportation Eisenhower Fellow.
Lilian Coral joined Knight Foundation in September 2017.
Coral is Knight’s director of national strategy, where she manages the national portfolio and focuses on the development of the foundation’s Smart Cities strategy. She came to Knight from the City of Los Angeles, where she served as chief data officer for Mayor Eric Garcetti. In this role, she led the mayor’s directive on Open Data beyond the lens of transparency and towards his vision of a data-driven Los Angeles through the management of the City’s Open Data program, the expansion of the use of data science and analytics, and the development of user-centered digital services. Coral led the development of the GeoHub, a first-of-its kind data management solution for integrating geospatial information across the City of Los Angeles’ 41 departments, and oversaw the publishing of 1,100 city datasets and APIs, the management of five portals of operational and financial data, and the roll-out of 15+ digital services, applications and public facing dashboards.
Prior to joining Mayor Garcetti, Coral spent 15 years working on a wide range of health and human services issues as an advocate and executive leader, having had the opportunity to work with labor unions, NGOs, foundations and human service agencies at all levels of government to transform the way government uses data and technology to serve its citizens.
Coral has a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of California, Irvine and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a native of Colombia, a place from where much of her inspiration for innovation and social justice emerged.
Philippe Crist is Administrator and Advisor for Innovation and Foresight of the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He develops and implements innovation and foresight tasks at the ITF, plans and coordinates research of the ITF’s Corporate Partnership Board and manages international research projects for the ITF’s 59 Member countries. His current work focuses on disruptive urban mobility scenarios and examines how car-based and active mobility, public transport and taxis must adapt to these. He is also leading work on Data science and public policy within the ITF investigating new strategies to leverage knowledge derived from new and rapidly growing data sources to improve transport decision-making. He is a recognised world expert on transport disruption, cycling safety and urban mobility. In 2016 he won the Danish Cycling Embassy’s Leadership Award for Cycling Promotion. His other work currently looks at managing mobility in rapidly growing urban areas, assessing GHG emission strategies in the transport sector, as well as investigating national transport asset and network management strategies. A French-American dual national, he is an ex-competitive cyclist and avid mushroom hunter. He also does much of his best thinking on a bicycle.
Jen De Melo is the Director of Programs and Operations at KaBOOM! and has been committed to prioritizing play and serving the kids who need it most since 2005. KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to ensuring that all kids get a childhood filled with the balanced and active play needed to thrive. Jen has worked on over 150 playground projects across North America and Mexico and oversees the Play Everywhere Program, Build it Yourself Grant Program, and other Special Programs at KaBOOM!. In her current role, Jen works with innovative and inclusive playspace designs and leads efforts to integrate these into cities and communities around the country. Additionally, Jen and her team work directly with communities and designers on developing innovative play ideas such as Play Everywhere, which brings play to everyday, unexpected places, including bus stops, sidewalks, grocery stores, and laundromats. Jen has a laser focus on equity, infrastructure and community and is focused on using play as a driving catalyst. Prior to joining KaBOOM!, Jen worked at the Boys and Girls Club in her hometown of Redwood City, CA after graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara where she obtained a degree in Cultural Anthropology.
Larry D. De Shon is chief executive officer and chief operating officer of Avis Budget Group, Inc., a leading global provider of vehicle rental services. Prior to this position, he served as president and chief operating officer.
Mr. De Shon was previously president, International, Avis Budget Group. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing the Company’s Avis, Budget, Zipcar, Payless, Maggiore and Apex businesses in Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Mr. De Shon joined Avis Budget Group in 2006 and has previously overseen the Company’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as president, EMEA and operations in the United States as executive vice president, domestic operations.
Before joining Avis Budget Group, Mr. De Shon was senior vice president of airport operations at United Airlines, Inc. As the head of United’s worldwide airport operations, he oversaw ground operations, logistics, safety, security, customer processing and service, product development and internal communications, leading an organization of 23,000 employees in 29 countries. He began his 28-year career with the airline carrier as a customer service representative and advanced to hold numerous positions of increasing responsibility during his tenure.
He received bachelor degrees in both communications and sociology from the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
Michael J. Dunne landed in Shanghai in 1990, at a time when China prohibited the personal ownership of cars. He founded and sold his first company, then served as CEO of J.D. Power in China. During the 2000s and 2010s Dunne played a pivotal role advancing the growth of American and European companies in key Asian markets including China, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. He later served as President of General Motors operations in Indonesia.
Twenty-five years since Dunne started doing business there, the Chinese now own 300 million cars. Having had a front row seat to this staggering growth, Dunne returned to the United States, where he now serves as an advisor, speaker and author. His touted keynotes offer a unique vision and expertise on China’s autonomous and electric vehicle industries, and what it all means for the United States. Dunne reveals how China’s global ambitions are triggering an upheaval in the world’s fast changing auto-tech industry.
Says Automotive News, “Few people know China’s auto industry better than Michael Dunne.”
Michael Dunne launched his next venture, “ZoZo Go”, an auto-tech advisory group, earlier this year. Based in Hong Kong, the company opened its U.S. operations in San Diego, CA this summer.
Victor Everhardt (05-06-1968) has been a deputy mayor and alderman in Utrecht since 2010. His current portfolio comprises Deputy Mayor, Public Health, Environment and Emission-free Transport, Redevelopment Station Area, Youth and Youth Health, Real Estate and the district of Leidsche Rijn.
Prior to becoming an alderman, Mr Everhardt was Chair of the Trimbos Institute Youth Centre, policy official at various ministries and legal assistant to the Dutch Equal Treatment Commission (CGB).
He holds degrees in Law and History from Utrecht University.
Mr Everhardt holds the following additional positions: Chair of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities’ (VNG) subcommittee Youth, Member of the VNG Advisory Committee on Public Health, Member of the Board of the Regional Execution Service (RUD), Member of the Board of the Mainline Foundation Netherlands.
Gina N. Fiandaca was appointed Commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department (BTD) in January of 2015 by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. Utilizing a combination of planning, engineering, operations and enforcement, Gina and her team of over 400 strive to ensure safe, efficient and equitable access to Boston’s streets for people using all transportation modes
Gina is committed to employing advanced design techniques, equipment and technology to refine and enhance the City of Boston’s transportation network.
Under her management, BTD partnered with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to establish one of Boston’s first dedicated bus lanes. BTD is also focused on advancing the city’s strategic bike network by building out high quality bike infrastructure. Boston is proud to be a notable walking city and Gina has ensured that pedestrian amenities are prioritized by BTD. Neighborhood Slow Streets tailors the implementation of traffic calming measures to reduce speeds in residential zones and improve the walking and biking experience.
Gina is responsible for launching ParkBoston, the City of Boston’s first meter payment app which accounts for 33% of all meter transactions, and 42% of the $10.8 million collected in meter revenue in fiscal year 2018. In October of 2016, Mayor Walsh signed an executive order that assigned Gina to lead oversight of autonomous vehicles in Boston, and called for BTD and the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics to develop guidelines for the testing of this technology.
As Commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department, Gina is the Chairperson of the City of Boston Air Pollution Control Commission, as well as a member of the City of Boston Public Improvement Commission and the Boston Emergency Management Agency, the National Association of Transportation Officials and the Massachusetts Area Planning Council. She is also on the Board of Directors of Women in Transportation (WTS), and past president of the New England Parking Council.
Gina received a bachelor’s degree from Suffolk University and an MBA from Boston University. She is a lifelong resident of East Boston where her family has been involved in public service and community affairs for generations. An avid runner, Gina represents South Boston’s L Street Running Club and has completed over forty marathons including nine ultra marathons.
Deborah Flint was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) in June 2015, with oversight of Los Angeles International (LAX) and Van Nuys (VNY) general aviation airports.
Flint leads the team responsible for returning LAX to iconic status, creating a world class, modern airport for the modern traveler and building a transportation system that will give passengers a first-class, swift, convenient, and reliable way to access the airport. Flint’s responsibilities involve managing the largest public works project in the history of the City of Los Angeles and investing more than $8.5-billion to innovate retail, food and beverage, terminal redevelopment and create an airport wide hospitality mindset. She leads the procurement and delivery of the Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP,) the $5.5 billion solution to the crowded roadways and curbsides at and around LAX.
Flint managed the transition of Ontario International Airport to its new local authority. She continues to position VNY, one of the world’s busiest general aviation airports, as a vital community partner which contributes more than $1.3 billion each year to the Southern California economy.Flint came to LAWA from the Port of Oakland where she had held the position of aviation director since 2010, being the primary executive responsible management, business development and operation of Oakland International Airport (OAK).
Flint serves on the Board of the Airports Council International World Board, is on the Oversight Committee of the Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program; and is the Chair of the California Airports Council.
A lawyer by education from India, Pras pursued his Masters in International Relations in Japan and the United States. Thereafter he spent his initial career as an in-house legal advisor and a management consultant in Japan and Australia, prior to joining Toyota.
For the last 16 years he has been in Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, Europe, and now Thailand, with experience in Human Resources, Accounting & Finance, Global External Affairs, and Corporate Planning.
During his time in HR he was responsible for Global Industrial Relations, HR Resource Management and Organization & HR Development. In Finance he led teams on Tax & Audit and Profit Planning for Europe. In External Affairs he led Global Strategic Planning and was instrumental in the set-up of the Hydrogen Council (launched in Davos in January 2017). Currently, he has responsibility towards corporate planning for the engineering & manufacturing operations across Asia.
Pras is also Program Director for the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF), responsible for the Asia- Pacific Region. In a world with mounting mobility challenges, Toyota Mobility Foundation was set up to use Toyota’s know-how in partnership with universities, governments and non-profit organizations to address the mobility issues of tomorrow today.
In TMF, Pras has been instrumental to introduce 1st and last mile solutions to the Bengaluru and Hyderabad Metros in India, supported the introduction of public transportation and On-Demand Bus solutions in Danang, Vietnam, and is working to identify causes and propose solutions for traffic congestion, including through data analytics, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Eric Garcetti is the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles. His “back to basics” agenda is focused on job creation and solving everyday problems for L.A. residents.
Garcetti was elected four times by his peers to serve as President of the Los Angeles City Council from 2006 to 2012. From 2001 until taking office as Mayor, he served as the Councilmember representing the 13th District which includes Hollywood, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Atwater Village — all of which were dramatically revitalized under Garcetti’s leadership.
Garcetti was raised in the San Fernando Valley and earned his B.A. and M.A. from Columbia University. He studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and the London School of Economics and taught at Occidental College and USC. A fourth generation Angeleno, he and his wife, Amy Elaine Wakeland, have a young daughter. He is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy reserve and is an avid jazz pianist and photographer.
Benoît started working for Les Echos in 2000, as a sub-editor for the weekly supplement Les Echos.net, then for the Innovation section of the newspaper. Since 2009, he is the editor of the Ideas and op-ed section both on print and online, for which he created a weekly page focused on prospective. He writes mostly about innovation, AI, robotics, collaborative economy, mobility and the future of work. In March 2018 he also launched a special section of Les Echos’ website focused on artificial intelligence (https://www.lesechos.fr/intelligence-artificielle/).
Mr. Glus has been engaged in planning, design, and construction of large and complex projects over the past 25 years. In the public engineering field, he was Principle in Charge of multiple billion-dollar capital programs, including the South Nassau County Resiliency Program (1.5B), Hillview Reservoir Design (1.6B), NYC Heath and Hospital’s Post Sandy Improvements (1.7B), and the design of over 20 design contracts related to the City’s water system. In the sustainability field, he is currently Project Director for DSNY’s Commercial Waste Franchise Design and Implementation, and is the principle author of the NYC Housing Authority’s Solid Waste Management Plan. As a transportation planner, he is Director of Arcadis’s analytical team in support of mobility consulting for US cities, the City of Paris, the Province of North Holland, and London. Arcadis’s mobility consulting currently focuses on services for governmental authorities as they prepare for and adapt to shared mobility, autonomous vehicles, autonomous fleet vehicles, MaaS, and advances in ITS/V2I.
Gabriella Gómez-Mont is the founder of Laboratorio para la Ciudad, the experimental arm / creative think tank of the Mexico City government, reporting to the Mayor. The Lab is a place to reflect about all things city and to explore other social scripts and urban futures for the largest megalopolis in the western hemisphere, working across diverse areas, such as urban creativity, mobility, governance, civic tech, public space etc. In addition, the Lab searches to create links between civil society and government, constantly shifting shape to accommodate multidisciplinary collaborations, insisting on the importance of political and public imagination in the execution of its experiments.
Besides her fascination with all things city, Gabriella is also a journalist, visual artist, a director of documentary films, as well as a creative advisor to several cities, universities and companies. She has been awarded several international recognitions for her work in different fields, such as the first prize in both the Audi Urban Future Award and the Best Art Practice Award given by the Italian government, as well as the TED City 2.0 Prize, among others. She is also a TED speaker, TED Senior Fellow, an MIT Director´s Fellow, a Yale World Fellow, an Institute for the Future Fellow, a World Cities Summit Young Leader and part of the international advisory committee for the Mayor of Seoul on Social Innovation as well as C40. She was recently named one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company magazine.
Neal Gorenflo is the co-founder and Executive Director of Shareable, an award-winning nonprofit news outlet and global action network that reports on the latest innovations resource sharing, solidarity economy, sharing cities, and the blockchain. He’s a speaker, author, and consultant on Shareable’s coverage areas. He’s the editor of multiple books including Shareable’s latest, “Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons.” As a recognized sharing movement pioneer, he advises leaders around the world on how to meet their goals through sharing. This has included work with Seoul Metropolitan Government, the city of San Francisco, and the Sharing Economy Association of Japan. Not surprisingly, Neal is an avid sharer whose year of sharing life experiment was covered by FastCompany, Sunset, and 7×7 magazines. As a social entrepreneur, Neal’s timely call to action is simple and systemic: let’s share!
Gibran Hadj-Chikh is the VP of Strategic Transformation & Innovation for Parsons, a technology-based infrastructure company based out of Pasadena, CA. In his current role, he is working with public agencies and commercial partners to develop the revenue models and enabling technologies for a new generation of mobility management infrastructure. Gibran has over 20 years’ experience in the planning and delivery of transportation infrastructure, including curb management strategies in mature downtown environments, regional transit plans, and intermodal planning for new and existing mobility systems in North America and the Middle East. He has a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Cornell University.
AIA, LEED AP BD+C is co-founder of the urban change management advisory firm CityFi, advising cities and the private sector on a more human-centered approach to smart cities. Previously, Ashley served as the Transportation Technology Strategist for the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation where she developed public policy, an action plan and pilot program recommendations for shared mobility and autonomous vehicle technologies. Prior to her work in LA, Ashley served as the first Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Kansas City, Missouri and the first female municipal CIO in the nation, creating the most comprehensive smart city in North America among other civic innovation projects. Ashley is a registered architect and green building professional having worked for AECOM and Eric Owen Moss Architects. She currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Carnegie Mellon University Traffic21/T-SET University Transportation Center and Open Architecture Collaborative and is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy.
Christopher Hawthorne is the Chief Design Officer for the city of Los Angeles, a position appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti. Prior to joining City Hall, Hawthorne was architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2004 to March 2018. With Alanna Stang, he is the author of “The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture” (Princeton Architectural Press). His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, Slate, Architectural Record, Architecture, Harvard Design Magazine and many other publications. He is professor of the practice at Occidental College, where since 2015 he has directed the Third Los Angeles Project, a series of public conversations about architecture, urban planning, mobility and demographic change in Southern California. Hawthorne has also taught at U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University and the Southern California Institute of Architecture. A frequent collaborator with KCET-TV in Los Angeles, he wrote and directed the hour-long documentary “That Far Corner: Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles,” which had its broadcast debut earlier this year, and received an L.A.-area Emmy Award for the 2016 KCET program “Third L.A. with Architecture Critic Christopher Hawthorne.” His other professional honors include a mid-career fellowship from the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University, the Bradford Williams Medal from the American Society of Landscape Architects and a Residency in Criticism at the American Academy in Rome. Hawthorne grew up in Berkeley and holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale, where he studied political science and architectural history.
As a leader in open data, education, and civic innovation, Jeanne Holm empowers people to discover new knowledge and collaborate to improve life on Earth and beyond. Jeanne is the Deputy CIO and Senior Technology Advisor to the Mayor for the City of Los Angeles, bringing technical innovations to 4 million people. Her work in Los Angeles focuses on delivering great city services like 311, public television, and social media, and public-private collaborations for technology innovations ranging from data science to 5G. She was formerly the Evangelist for open data for the White House under President Obama, the leader for Africa open data for the World Bank, and the Chief Knowledge Architect at NASA. She is a Distinguished Instructor at UCLA and a Fellow of the United Nations International Academy of Astronautics. She directs two startups that promote peace and social justice through technology and education programs for innovators throughout the world.
Justin Holmes is Zipcar’s director of corporate communications and public policy where he leads efforts to promote Zipcar’s brand of “wheels when you want them” to Zipcar members, city leaders, media and other stakeholders. Leveraging his experience in technology as well as public and government relations, Mr. Holmes works with cities and policy makers to help accelerate the adoption of car sharing as a vital, sustainable part of the urban transportation ecosystem. Before joining Zipcar, Mr. Holmes served as chief information officer to Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, where he led a number of initiatives to use technology to make the city work smarter and serve its citizens better. He is a native Bostonian and graduate of the College of the Holy Cross.
Michael Hurwitz is the Director of Transport Innovation at Transport for London (TfL). Responsible for making sure transport in London is ready for the future, his team actively seeks out and assesses new ideas and developments in the transport world, helping TfL to determine which new business models or services could help address the challenges facing our city. From dockless cycle hire to demand responsive transport; from connected and autonomous vehicles, to smart use of energy in our vehicles and infrastructure, the goal is to engage with market innovators, test how new ideas could work for London and set the policy frameworks to ensure new innovations are integrated and work for all. Previously, Michael was Director, Energy, Technology & International at the UK Department for Transport (DfT), having set up and led the UK’s national policies and programmes worth £1bn on ultra-low emission vehicles, driverless and connected cars, future fuels and negotiation of international regulations on vehicle safety and emissions. Former roles include having founded and led the cross-Government Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV); time as the DfT’s Strategy Director; and from 2011 to 2014 he was Policy Fellow at the Energy Futures Lab, Imperial College London. Prior to joining the civil service he worked on organisational transformation programmes for Arthur Andersen and Deloitte.
Mrinalini (Lani) Ingram is the VP of Verizon’s Smart Communities organization, leading the company’s initiative on digital transformation of cities, universities, utilities, and sports and entertainment organizations. Her goal is to drive economic growth, enable environmental sustainability, and enhance quality of life for citizens, students, and fans on a global scale.
Under Lani’s leadership, the team has developed a Public Private Partnership model with cities to leverage the best of Verizon and government leaders in order to drive city innovation and deliver a diverse array of solutions for citizens.
Lani has been a leader in developing the Smart Communities and IoT industry for over a decade, beginning with leading Cisco’s Smart + Connected Communities Strategy and Business Development team. Prior to her focus on Smart Communities, Lani spent over 21 years in finance, the last four years as the CFO for Cisco’s Globalization Center in India, where she was part of the initial pioneer team that created Cisco’s second headquarters and launched the company’s global IoT and Smart Communities initiatives.
Lani served as president of the board of directors for Silicon Valley Talent Partnership, and on the board of directors for DialSource. She earned her CPA while working for PriceWaterhouse Coopers and holds a B.A. from Gonzaga University and an executive MBA from Harvard Business School.
Lisa Joy Rosner is an award-winning and patented executive with over 20 years of experience marketing big data and analytics solutions at both public and start-up technology companies. Currently the CMO at Otonomo, an automotive data services platform, Lisa Joy is driving global development of the company’s marketplace.
Previously, Rosner served as CMO at Neustar, leading a major brand transformation as the company entered into the security and marketing data services markets. Prior to that, she launched social intelligence company, NetBase, where she worked with five of the top 10 CPGs as they adopted a new approach to real-time marketing. Additionally, Lisa Joy served as Vice President of Marketing at MyBuys (sold to Magnetic) and Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at BroadVision Inc. Ms. Rosner also held positions at data warehousing companies Brio (sold to Hyperion), DecisionPoint (sold to Teradata), and started her career at Oracle Corporation.
Lisa Joy was named a 2013 “Silicon Valley Woman of Influence,” 2014 B2B Marketer of the Year by the Sage Group and Wall Street Journal and was a Top 100 Women in Marketing honoree by Brand Innovators in 2015. She has been a guest lecturer at the Hass School of Business, the Tuck School of Business and Stanford University. Lisa Joy has a bachelor’s degree (sum cum laude) in English Literature from the University of Maryland. She currently sits on the marketing advisory board of Mintigo, The Big Flip, Fyber, and PLAE Shoes, the board of trustees for UC Merced and is the mother of four adolescent children.
Sarah M. Kaufman is the Associate Director at the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation, where she researches, advocates for and educates about cutting-edge technologies in transportation. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Planning, teaching Intelligent Cities and Advanced Projects in Urban Planning.
Ms. Kaufman leads several projects related to improving transportation through technology: Intelligent Paratransit, to rethink how we transport seniors and the disabled; Emerging Leaders in Transportation Fellowship, a program to enhance innovation at all levels of transportation planning and policymaking; and Job Access, a comparative study of how livelihoods are affected by level of access to mass transit in New York City.
Ms. Kaufman has been cited in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC Nightly News, CityLab and Urban Omnibus for her work on gender and biking, job access and intelligent transportation.
Gabe is a co-founder of CityFi, an advisory services firm, as well as is the former Commissioner of the Chicago and Washington D.C Departments of Transportation. In both cities he revamped technology platforms and government processes while focusing on putting people first vs. automobiles on city streets. This included launching two of the first and largest bike share systems in the U.S. and building protected bike lanes and better pedestrian infrastructure for vulnerable citizens citywide, as well as facilitating private services like carshare and rideshare that could help each cities mobility goals. Gabe honed his creativity and leadership skills working in business, including Zipcar, where he served as Vice President, Bikes USA as national Director of Stores and his own electric powered, organic food truck chain, On The Fly.
Post-government, and after an enriching fellowship with the Urban Land Institute in 2014, Gabe joined Fontinalis Partners as a Special Venture Partner on their $100 million 2nd fund. Gabe also advises governments and companies worldwide on innovation in cities including Singapore where Gabe has been a visiting fellow for the Centre For Livable Cities, working on creating a “car-lite” city-state. In 2015, Gabe also published Start-Up City with David Vega-Barachowitz on Island Press, a manifesto on revamping how (and how fast) we innovate in cities and rethinking public-private partnerships with a triple-bottom line approach as technology shapes a dramatically different future.
Gabe sits on the boards of Streetsblog, Carma, and advisory boards of NACTO, Sensity Systems, Zendrive, and advises next-gen start-ups including Phone2Action and Transit Screen. As Commissioner, he has worked to bring a new Riverwalk to Chicago as well as the breathtaking Bloomingdale Trail, 100’s of miles of bike lanes, new policies combined with technology solutions to revamp parking, permitting, and many other arcane government processes.
Bastian is CEO of Postmates, the on-demand delivery company he co-founded in 2011. The idea for Postmates was originally conceived in 2005 when Bastian was relocating from Munich to London and he struggled with finding a simple solution for moving goods around a city. He later pursued this notion of “ride-sharing for stuff” through AngelPad in San Francisco, where he met his co-founders Sean Plaice and Sam Street. Postmates now operates in over 550 US cities and Mexico and has a fleet of 170,000+ Postmates making deliveries on the platform.
Prior to Postmates, Bastian co-founded Curated.by, a real-time tweet curation platform based in London. Before that, at 12snap, he managed marketing budgets for Adidas and Lufthansa and helped many European startups in product related roles. A native of Germany, Bastian now lives in San Francisco.
Yann Leriche joined Transdev in 2008, beginning as CEO of Group subsidiary Transamo, which provides counseling and assistance in the planning, implementation and operation of large public transportation projects, until 2010. He then took responsibility for Transdev SZ (bus operations) and EurailCo (rail) at Transdev Germany. He was appointed Deputy Director of Transdev North America in 2012. In 2013, he was named Group Chief Performance Officer and joined the Excom. In July 2017, he became CEO Transdev North America in charge of the B2C Business Line and development of the Autonomous Vehicles Activities.
Prior to joining Transdev, he served as Director of the Services Division in Europe for Bombardier Transportation guided light transit systems. He began his career in public service, first as Transportation Infrastructure manager in the Calvados region, then as Director of Public Transport in Greater Reims where he was project manager of the line 1 light rail.
A graduate of Ecole Polytechnique (1997) and the Ecole nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (1999) and a member of the College of Engineers, Yann Leriche also holds an Executive Specialized Masters in Tax and Financial Engineering from ESCP-Europe.
Stella Li is the President of BYD Motors, a global green technology company based in Los Angeles, California that produces cutting edge battery-electric vehicles, battery-energy storage solutions, solar farms, and energy efficient LED lighting systems. As President, Stella is responsible for overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations and long-term strategic vision. She is also the architect of BYD’s thriving expansions in the Americas—including its North America headquarters in Los Angeles, California in 2011 and its electric bus, truck, and energy module factories in Lancaster, California in 2013. Prior to becoming President, Stella served as BYD’s Senior Vice President and was responsible for successfully expanding the company’s operations around the world. Under Stella’s leadership, BYD achieved exponential market growth, developed invaluable partnerships, and became a dominant global force across multiple industries.
In 2018, Sam was re-elected to a second term as mayor of San Jose, California, with 76% of the vote.
In Sam’s prior public service, he prosecuted a range of felony cases as a federal and local criminal prosecutor, from sexual assault and child exploitation to international narcotrafficking. In 2006, voters elected Sam to the first of his two terms on the City Council, where he led efforts to revitalize its downtown, preserve San José’s hillsides and open space, boost funding for affordable housing, and open a world-class soccer stadium for the San José Earthquakes. He served as a founding board member of Cristo Rey San Jose High School, an innovative Jesuit school that propels students from low-income immigrant families to college and beyond.
Sam serves on a number of boards, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Valley Transit Authority (twice as Chairperson), and serves as co-chair for Joint Venture Silicon Valley. He is a senior fellow for the American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley, and is a Rodel Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
Sam graduated from San José’s Bellarmine College Prep and from Georgetown University, where he was captain of the heavyweight Crew. He received a law degree from Harvard Law School, and a master’s degree from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Sam and his wife, Jessica, live in the Northside neighborhood, north of Downtown, within blocks of Jessica’s childhood home, where Sam’s father also grew up, and where Sam’s grandparents operated a neighborhood grocery store. Sam descended from Sicilian and Irish immigrants, as well as from the first Mexican settlers in the Bay Area.
Greg Lindsay joined NewCities in June 2015 as Senior Fellow to lead our Connected Mobility Initiative. Greg is a journalist, urbanist, futurist, and speaker. He is a non-resident senior fellow of The Atlantic Council in their Strategic Foresight Initiative. He is also a contributing writer for Fast Company, co-author of Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next, a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, and a research affiliate of the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI). His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and Fortune, among many other publications. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in journalism.
Rob Lloyd was named the CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One and member of the Board of Directors in September 2015. As CEO, Rob is leveraging his experience with Internet infrastructure, technology ecosystems, and global partnerships to reimagine the transportation industry.
Under Rob’s leadership, Virgin Hyperloop One has developed the world’s first hyperloop business model and Virgin Hyperloop One’s open innovation strategy, raised $295 million in funding, expanded to four locations, and helped scale to 300+ employees by recruiting engineering and business leaders from the world’s top companies. The company has had numerous successful test runs at its full-scale, full system test track in the Nevada desert. Rob and his team have engaged with a dozen countries around the world, working with government officials to develop the world’s first commercial hyperloop agreements.
Prior to Virgin Hyperloop One, Rob spent over 20 years at Cisco Systems where he managed the majority of the company’s worldwide business. As President, he led engineering, sales, and the Internet of Everything and was responsible for 40,000 employees globally. Rob’s organizations managed the alignment and acceleration of Cisco’s technology innovation to enable a faster response to market transitions, increased customer relevance, and growth. He held several leadership positions at the company including Executive Vice President of Worldwide Operations, Senior Vice President of the United States, Canada, and Japan, and also served as President of Cisco’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa region for more than four years.
Tom Madrecki is the director of urban innovation and mobility at UPS.
In his role, Madrecki leads partnerships between UPS and cities around the world, spearheading the deployment of innovative pilot projects and advancing mobility policy solutions to reduce congestion, deliver sustainably and enhance quality of life. He is a recognized urban mobility expert, with a focus on alternative delivery models, progressive transportation policies, curbside management and the potential for e-commerce to reduce personal automobile use.
Prior to his current position, Madrecki led transportation and sustainability policy communications for UPS. He has also served as the spokesman and press manager for Smart Growth America, a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to sustainable urban planning and development. Madrecki lives on Capitol Hill in Washington DC with his wife Priya and their 2-year-old Siberian husky, Ava.
Jeff Marootian is the Director of the District Department of Transportation where he has served since March 2017. Jeff leads the agency in its mission to create a safe and sustainable transportation system for the District of Columbia and is responsible for delivering on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s priorities to rebuild and modernize the city’s public infrastructure; embrace innovation and technology to generate mobility options; and reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries through a concerted Vision Zero strategy.
Prior to joining DDOT he served as the White House Liaison and Assistant Secretary for Administration at the United States Department of Transportation. Jeff was a member of the leadership team whose achievements include launching the nationwide Smart Cities Challenge; advocating for and helping to secure passage of the FAST Act; and creating economic opportunity through transit and mobility initiatives in communities across the country. Jeff oversaw the 55,000-employee agency’s business and management operations, including workforce development and human resources, diversity, facilities, procurement and security. He was also the Department’s Chief Sustainability Officer and directed the implementation of President Obama’s Executive Order on Climate Change and Sustainability and contributed to the Department’s strategy on electric and autonomous vehicles. He also played a key role in standing up the Build America Bureau to advance the use of public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects across the country.
Jeff is an alumnus of the George Washington University where he also serves as an Adjunct Faculty member in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Administration.
Heather founded Caspian Agency in 2005. Her expertise in the innovation and social good business space have led to successful projects for the Skoll Foundation, Oxford University, Rockefeller Foundation, San Diego Zoo, United Nations, Keurig Coffee and Participant Media, among many other high-impact organizations.
Heather is a board member of Social Venture Network (SVN), is a member of SPIN, and has been featured in Collaborate and Successful Meetings magazine.
Meg Merritt is a Principal at Nelson\Nygaard where she leads the firm’s Emerging Mobility Sector. Meg specializes in integrating new technology trends with traditional mobility planning to help cities and transit authorities work with the private sector more smoothly. Meg spent her early career in New York working in real estate and economic development and in Austin as a transit oriented development Planner. She spent several years with Deloitte Consulting working on USDOT’s high speed rail program and has experience in the tech sector where she lead mobility partnerships for the app RideScout/moovel. Meg led one of the first app-based transit/TNC/carshare pilots in the country with TriMet’s RideTap program. She is currently co-authoring a TCRP report on transit/TNC partnerships as well as serving as Principal-in-Charge on LA Metro’s microtransit pilot for one of the three services being proposed.
Mohamed Mezghani has been serving as Secretary General for the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) since January 2018, and has worked in public transport and urban mobility related fields for the last 25 years.
He was UITP’s Senior Manager from 1999 to 2001 and Knowledge Director from 2001 to 2006, chairing the department developing knowledge-related services for UITP members. From 2006 till 2013, he worked as an independent consultant and adviser to UITP on several technical assistance and training projects in Africa and the Middle East and managed a number of projects involving numerous experts and multidisciplinary teams.
His main fields of expertise include urban mobility policies and travel demand management, trends and innovation, institutional organization, regulatory framework and energy efficiency in public transport, as well as relationships between public transport stakeholders.
Before joining UITP, M. Mezghani worked as a consultant for the French group BCEOM from 1990 to 1999. He has managed and carried out projects including policy definition, technical assistance and research activities in several countries in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and Arab countries. During his collaboration with the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management, ADEME, from 1988-1990, M. Mezghani carried out actions aimed at identifying and evaluating transport energy efficiency projects likely to be financed by the Agency in France.
M. Mezghani is a Franco-Tunisian citizen. He graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Tunis, Tunisia and holds a Masters’ Degree in Transport from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, France.
Russ Mitchell covers the rapidly changing global auto industry, with special emphasis on California, including Tesla, electric vehicles and driverless cars. The Times’ former technology editor, he’s worked on staff at publications ranging from Business Week to Wired. A graduate of the University of Illinois, he also studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Vannevar Bush Fellow. Mitchell still drives his black 2000 Audi TT, the rare smooth-backed version manufactured before lawyers made the company attach a spoiler.
ABB is at the forefront of developing state-of-the-art EV Charging Infrastructure. Knowing the challenges on the chargers itself, on complete site-level or on grid-level, ABB is perfectly positioned to provide the solution and contribute in running the world without consuming the earth. Let’s talk about the technology and challenges of high-power charging on site level and beyond
Former CEO of Opel, Karl-Thomas Neumann brings 25 years of automotive industry experience and will be leading innovative mobility concepts.
Prior to Opel, he held various leadership positions including CEO of Volkswagen Group China and CEO of Continental AG. Neumann is a longtime advocate and early pioneer of electric mobility and in 2009 he took over VW’s companywide responsibility for electric propulsion.
KT worked as CTO and Board Member at Continental Automotive Systems, where he oversaw the acquisition of Siemens-VDO, making Continental the second-largest supplier of automotive electronics in Germany. He was then promoted to CEO in 2008.
KT has a passion for new transportation concepts – believing that traditional carmakers will not be driving the change. He feels these new concepts will free major urban centers of traffic and pollution.
Aric drives strategy for product and technology at Envoy, ensuring that the company continues to scale and innovate its mobility-driven services around the world.
As both a motor enthusiast and real estate investment expert, Aric has a unique understanding of how mobility as a service can be effectively implemented as an amenity.
Aric began his career in institutional investments, overseeing the acquisition, operations and disposition of over $250 million in commercial real estate transactions. He later founded Osher Real Estate, where he spearheaded the acquisition and aggregation of several acres located on and around UTA campus, leading to the development of a $50 million student housing opportunity.
Alan covers the evolution of transportation and the intersection of autos, tech and Silicon Valley for Forbes. He is based in Los Angeles, the U.S. capital of cars and congestion, and has chronicled the global auto industry and advanced vehicle tech for more than two decades.
Alan joined Forbes after a stint as Chief Communications Officer for TrueCar, a NASDAQ-listed online car-shopping service. Prior to that, he was a senior transportation reporter and editor for Bloomberg News for 15 years, initially in Tokyo before a transfer to Los Angeles.
His fascination with cutting-edge transportation was stoked by a dozen years in Japan. There he worked in equity research departments for two brokerages, was a staff writer and editor for the Asahi Evening News and Tokyo Journal, edited broadcast copy for NHK’s Radio Japan, and was (briefly) a BusinessWeek correspondent.
Prior to joining LACI, he was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti as the first ever Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles. Serving as CSO for four years, Petersen was the chief architect of the groundbreaking Sustainable City pLAn, led efforts to make LA a global leader in EVs, and helped create the Climate Mayors.
Petersen co-founded Global Green USA and led the organization for 19 years as President and CEO. The organization was a pioneer in greening of affordable housing, schools, and cities as well as helping grow the solar sector. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Petersen put forth a vision and mobilized resources to green the rebuilding of New Orleans, including schools, the Lower 9th Ward, and more.
Petersen is chair of the Climate Mayors board, and a board member of Global Green USA, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, Center for Environmental Health, and the Sir Edmund Hilary Institute for International Leadership. Petersen is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the LA Sustainability Leadership Council, and served as an advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative on energy and the environment while a CGI member for 10 years. He has a son, and is a retired AYSO coach.
Valérie Plante settled in Montreal 20 years ago while studying for her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, and decided to make it her hometown while she completed a Master’s in Museology and a Certificate in Multiethnic Intervention. The passionate cyclist went on to work in the cultural, community and unionized sectors. She has worked within various communities, notably in Latin America where her interest in social justice, fight against poverty and citizen participation greatly increased. Back in Montréal, she accompanied immigrant women victims of conjugal violence through the judicial process and organized training programs for young immigrant and indigenous women throughout the country.
The mother of two boys joined Projet Montréal to build a greener, more vibrant, more prosperous and more open city for future generations.
For her, citizens need to be able to rely on a team that aims to fulfill the full economic and social potential of their city. After being elected to Montreal City Council in 2013, Valérie Plante was elected, on December 4th 2016, leader of the party by Projet Montréal and thus became leader of the Official opposition. On November 5th, 2017, she was elected the first female mayor of Montreal.
Since July 2016, Martin has led the Transport Agency’s approach to innovation and new technology. He is passionate about using data to provide smart solutions that connect people, services and infrastructure.
Martin joined the Transport Agency in 2014 as Zero Harm manager. Working with industry partners, Martin led the introduction of new technology and data analytics to support the government’s objective to reduce workplace fatalities and serious harm by 25 percent.
Martin has more than 15 years’ experience in the engineering and construction industry. He has also established two technology start-up businesses. He sits on the Construction Safety Council Board of Directors and holds an executive role with the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative. Martin is also a registered member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand.
Alvaro Ramis is Head of Global Market Development and Partnerships at MOIA. Mr. Ramis has over 20 years of experience on new business models and innovation and has held management positions in start-ups and multinationals in the fintech, travel, media, and mobility industries. Mr. Ramis has been CMO of car2go and CEO of BBVA SaaS. Alvaro Ramis has been part of MOIA since its beginnings and is responsible for opening new businesses and cities around the world for AD solutions.
Following a degree in business engineering and a number of years as management consultant he was most recently responsible for the development of technologystart-ups as Venture Manager in central research with Siemens AG Munich. He now applies his many years of experience in the strategic positioning of High-Tech innovations within international markets to Volocopter GmbH.
Seleta Reynolds has over 17 years of transportation experience throughout the United States in both the public and private sectors. Prior to her current position, Seleta was a leader in the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Livable Streets section, coordinating streets projects citywide.
B.A. American History, Brown University.
John Rossant personally leads the LA CoMotion team. He is the Founder and Chairman of the NewCities Foundation, a major global non-profit institution dedicated to improving the quality of life and work in cities. He previously led the team producing the famous World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland every January and has been been the producer of major World Economic Forum conferences in China, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. He has also played key roles in Monaco, with the Monaco Media Forum and the ongoing Prince’s Roundtable on Philanthropy. In 2010, French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked John to organize the first global summit on the future of the Internet, the e-G8. John has worked with heads of state and government and leading CEOs from around the world.
Jeff Russakow, CEO Jeff Russakow is CEO of Boosted, a leading provider of lightweight, portable, high-performance electric vehicles, and an innovator in fast, fun, simple “last-mile” transportation. The company is well-known for its first commercial product, the Boosted Board, a premier electric longboard used by riders worldwide to speed their commutes and daily trips about town. The company is now navigating the dual challenges of extraordinary hyper-growth and international expansion, while continuing to explore new and innovative ways to get folks where they need to be.
Jeff began his career as a PhD in robotics and autonomous systems; spent many formative years as a management consultant and then senior executive in large-scale tech companies including SAP, Adobe, Symantec, and Yahoo!; and in the last several years has been the CEO of three high-growth companies.
Ori is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in developing high growth businesses. He is responsible for leading the vision, strategy, and growth for Envoy, as the company continues to build out a robust global infrastructure.
With nearly 2 decades of experience driving successful entrepreneurial ventures, including Smart IL and Lenn Ventures, Ori has a vast knowledge of various facets of business including new business incubation, venture investing activities, project management, and business development.
Over the past 10 years, Ori shifted his focus towards real estate related investments, including acquisition and operations, as well as actively initiating technology related ventures in the US market.
Karina Ricks is the inaugural director of the new Department of Mobility and Infrastructure for the City of Pittsburgh moving to the city in March 2017 after two decades in Washington, DC. In this role, Karina oversees transportation investments and policies that support the physical mobility needed for the people of Pittsburgh to pursue the economic mobility they aspire to. Karina is passionate about transportation and mobility as the foundation of inclusive, equitable, safe and thriving communities. Prior to that, Karina was in the private sector as a Principal and East Coast Multimodal Lead for Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates and served for years as Director of Transportation Planning for the District of Columbia She is a graduate of Cornell University, Michigan State University and a Fulbright Scholar.
Rudy Salo is a Los Angeles-based public finance partner at Nixon Peabody LLP, a global law firm. Rudy has served as counsel on a broad range of community impact financings involving governmental entities, transportation systems, educational institutions, cultural institutions, and entertainment venues. His practice includes advising lenders in providing credit facilities, direct lending and lines of credit throughout California and the United States, often involving commercial real estate or other asset backed collateral. Some of the significant transportation projects Rudy has worked on include the financing of the SR237 Express Lanes expansion in Silicon Valley, Project Neon in Las Vegas, the New Tappan Zee Bridge, the extension of the SR91 Express Lanes into Riverside County, DART’s Orange Line extension to DFW Airport, the financial restructuring and sale of SR125 in San Diego, and the renovation of the City of Denver’s Union Station. He has also worked on the financing of several sports stadiums, including the Giants/Jets, Yankees, Padres, and Patriots’ stadiums.
RJ Scaringe founded Rivian in 2009 and led the company through a tough economic climate to secure substantial financing, recruit and scale an exceptional team, and establish the company’s product and technology platform. Mr. Scaringe excels in analyzing highly complex systems, combining deep analytical capabilities with a system-based development methodology. Mr. Scaringe earned his MS and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a member of the research team in the Sloan Automotive Laboratory. In leading Rivian, Mr. Scaringe works to maintain a highly collaborative environment, and his hands-on approach drives innovative thinking into all aspects of the business and company culture.
Joshua L. Schank is the first ever Chief Innovation Officer at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), where he leads the Office of Extraordinary Innovation (OEI). The role of this office is to champion new ideas to improve mobility in LA County by informing the high-level vision for LA Metro, piloting and implementing new and experimental programs and policy, and serving as the primary liaison relevant to LA Metro coming from entrepreneurs, established private sector entities, academia, or individual residents. The office is also responsible for LA Metro’s Public Private Partnership (P3), and strategic planning functions.
Prior to joining LA Metro, Dr. Schank was President and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, a national non-profit think-tank. Dr. Schank’s extensive work in transportation policy and planning is well documented in his publications, including “All Roads Lead to Congress: The $300 Billion Fight Over Highway Funding,” co-authored with Costas Panagopoulos and published by CQ Press in 2007. He holds a Ph.D. in urban planning from Columbia University, a Master of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.A. in urban studies from Columbia University.
Mr. Schwarzenbauer has been a Member of the Board of Management at BMW AG since 2013, with previous positions including President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America between 2003-2008 and Member of the Board of Management at Audi AG, responsible for Marketing and Sales from 2008- 2012.
Kadri Simson is the Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure of the Republic of Estonia from 23 November 2016. She is a member of the Estonian Centre Party.
From 2007–2016, Kadri Simson was a member of the 11th, 12th, and 13th Riigikogu.
From 2009–2016, she was the Chairman of the Estonian Centre Party faction, and from 2007–2009, the Deputy Chairman of the National Defence Committee.
In 2013, Kadri Simson was elected in Pärnu City Council and in 2009, she was elected as a member of Tallinn City Council. From 2003–2007, Kadri Simson was the Secretary-General of the Estonian Centre Party.
In 2003, Kadri Simson served as the Research Assistant of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. From 2001–2002, Kadri Simson was the Advisor to the Mayor of Tallinn and in 1999, the Advisor of Tallinn City Council.
From 1998–1999, Kadri Simson served as the Consultant of the European Documentation Centre of the University of Tartu.
Born on 22 January 1977 in Tartu, Kadri Simson has graduated from Tartu Secondary School No. 10, acquired a degree in History at the University of Tartu and a Master’s degree in Political Science from University College London.
Chris Teale is associate editor at Smart Cities Dive, a trade publication based in Washington, D.C. covering the latest news and trends in urban mobility, sustainability, resilience, governance and tech. He has been with the publication since February 2018 after several years in local journalism.
Mark Thomas is the VP of Marketing and Alliances at Ridecell and is responsible for marketing Ridecell, the world’s leading platform to launch, operate and scale new car and ride sharing mobility services. Prior to joining Ridecell, Thomas headed the connected car marketing team at Cisco Jasper, where he developed the product and go-to-market strategies for automotive OEMs. Prior to Cisco, Mark led product marketing at HERE, a leading automotive maps company. In addition, Mark served in marketing, strategy, and business development roles at Apple and Nokia. Mark holds a B.A. from University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.
Aarjav is the founder and CEO of Ridecell and has set the vision and direction for the company since 2009. He also remains actively involved with the engineering, design, marketing and product teams within the organization. Prior to Ridecell, Aarjav worked in engineering at SpiDynamics (acquired by HP) and as a research engineer at CipherTrust and Secure Computing (acquired by McAfee) where he helped invent and ship security systems used by over 40% of the Fortune 500, as well as the Pentagon. He holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Mumbai.
Alissa Walker connects people with where they live through writing, speaking, and walking. As the urbanism editor at Curbed, she authors the column Word on the Street, highlighting the pioneering transit, clever civic design, and game-changing policy affecting our cities.
For her writing on design and urbanism, Alissa has been named a USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Fellow and Journalist of the Year by Streetsblog Los Angeles. In 2012 her project Good Ideas for Cities was selected for inclusion in the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. In 2015 she received the Design Advocate award from the LA chapter of the American Institute of Architects. She is also the co-founder of design east of La Brea, a nonprofit that has received two National Endowment for the Arts grants supporting its LA design events.
Alissa lives in Los Angeles, where she is a mom to the city’s two most enthusiastic public transit riders.
Emily is a shared mobility expert focused on leveraging new transportation technologies to reduce reliance on car ownership and build more sustainable cities. After starting her career in the traditional spheres of Capitol Hill and infrastructure finance, Emily made the leap to Silicon Valley as one of the earliest employees at Lyft, where she helped pioneer the ridesharing industry. The creator and longtime leader of Lyft’s Transportation Policy team, she spent the last half-decade working with cities to incorporate shared mobility and understand its impacts on travel behavior, infrastructure, public transit, and the environment. Emily now leads Policy and Public Affairs at Lime, the free-floating bike and e-scooter platform which has grown to over 100 cities in the last 18 months. She holds an M.P.A. in Public Finance from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.
In his position as LA Metro CEO, Washington manages an annual operating budget of $1.6 billion and is responsible for overseeing $15 billion in capital projects and providing oversight of an agency that transports 1.4 million boarding passengers on an average weekday, riding on a fleet of 2,000 clean- air buses and six rail lines. LA Metro also is the lead transportation planning and programming agency for LA County. As such, it is a major construction agency that oversees bus, rail, highway and other mobility-related building projects – together representing the largest modern public works program in North America.
Washington was a leader in the successful effort to pass a new half-cent sales tax in LA County, which garnered 71.15% voter approval. Measure M will build 40 major highway and transit projects in the first 40 years, create 778,000 jobs through construction and various programs, and provide $133.3 billion in economic impact.
Washington came to Los Angeles from Denver, where he was Assistant General Manager for nearly 10 years, prior to being named CEO in 2009.
Claudia Wasko is Vice President and General Manager of Bosch eBike Systems Americas, a business unit of Robert Bosch LLC. In her position, she is responsible for all operational activities in eBike Systems within North and South America. She is based in Irvine, CA.
Since joining Bosch in 1994 Wasko has held numerous positions with increasing responsibility in the areas of key account sales, original equipment sales and marketing. In 2009 she was the co-founder of the business unit Bosch eBike Systems in Germany. In her position as the head of department for sales and service she was strongly involved Bosch made achieved a market-leading position globally.
Wasko earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Berufsakademie, Stuttgart (Germany).
Beijing-born architect Ma Yansong is recognized as an important voice in the new generation of architects. He is the first Chinese architect to win an overseas landmark-building project. As the founder and principal of MAD Architects, Ma leads design across various scales. In recent years, many of Ma’s designs follow his conception of the “Shanshui City”, which is his vision to create a new balance among society, the city and the environment through architecture. Since designing the “Floating Island” in 2002, Ma has been exploring this idea through an international practice. At MAD, Ma has created a series of imaginative works, including Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Absolute Towers, Harbin Opera House, Hutong Bubble 32, Ordos Museum, Chaoyang Park Plaza, Huangshan Mountain Village, etc. In 2014, Ma was selected as the principal designer for Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which made him the first Chinese architect to design overseas culture landmark. Parallel to his design practice, he has also been exploring with the public the cultural values of cities and architecture through domestic and international solo exhibitions, publications and art works.
In 2006, Ma was awarded the “Young Architects Award” by the Architectural League of New York. In 2008 he was selected as one of the “20 Most Influential Young Architects” by ICON magazine. Fast Company respectively named him one of the “10 Most Creative People in Architecture in 2009” and one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business in 2014.” In 2010 he became the first architect from China to receive a RIBA fellowship. In 2014 he was awarded “Young Global Leaders (YGL)” by World Economic Forum. In 2012, his iconic project “Absolute Towers,” two residential towers in Mississauga, Canada was named the “Best Tall Building in the Americas” by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
Ma graduated from the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture, and holds a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Yale University. He is currently a professor in Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, as well as an adjunct professor in University of Southern California, and Tsinghua University.
Cathy Zoi is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EVgo. Zoi is a distinguished executive with decades of experience in the clean energy, investing, and policy worlds. She is committed to working closely with automotive OEM & new mobility partners, utilities, and other industry stakeholders to deliver a first-in-class charging experience and fast-charging network for EV drivers in the United States and across the world.
Zoi has held a number of senior executive positions in the energy industry, government, academia and non-profit sectors. Most recently, she was President and co-founder of Odyssey Energy, a distributed generation software company she continues to chair. She was founding CEO of Frontier Power, a rural electrification company incubated by SunEdison. She served in the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary and Acting Under Secretary at the Department of Energy, where she oversaw more than $30 billion in energy investments. Zoi was also the founding CEO of both the Alliance for Climate Protection, established and chaired by U.S. Vice President Al Gore; and the Sustainable Energy Development Authority, a $50m fund to commercialize clean energy technologies in Australia. In the private sector, she has been an energy investor at Silver Lake and Bayard Capital, a board member for Ice Energy, SES, and Pacific Solar, and a management consultant at ICF and Next Energy. In the early 1990s, Zoi was Chief of Staff for Environmental Policy in the Clinton White House and she pioneered the Energy Star program while at the US EPA. Cathy is also an adjunct professor and Precourt Energy Scholar at Stanford University, where she has been teaching and doing research since 2012.
Zoi has a B.S. in Geology from Duke University and an M.S. in Engineering from Dartmouth.
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