FISITA Academy of Technical Leadership

The FISITA Academy of Technical Leadership has been established in order to create a unique status within the automotive and mobility systems engineering community, through which outstanding achievers can be acknowledged and recognised for their commitment and contribution to the technology of mobility.

2023 Recipients

Mr. Jose Manuel Barrios

Head of Digital Solutions

Applus IDIADA

Spain

Mr. Jean-Luc Bouvier

Executive Fellow Passenger car, light truck & 2 wheel

Michelin

France

Dr. Selda Gunsel

President of Shell Global Solutions (US) and Global Vice President of Lubricants, Mobility & Fuels Technology
Shell

United States

Mr. Kent Helfrich

Chief Technology Officer, Vice President, Global Research & Development

General Motors

United States

Dr. Wu Kai

Chief Scientist

CATL

China

Dr. Chang Hwan Kim

Senior Vice President

Hyundai Motor Group

Korea

Mrs. Sophie Schmidtlin

Chief Technology Officer – The Future Is Neutral – Renault Group
Renault Group

France

Mr. Dominik Schuster

Vice President Vehicle Safety

BMW Group

Germany

Mr. Thierry Trevalinet

Managing Director
AVL List GmbH

France

The FISITA Academy endorsement delivers FISITA recognition and status for the world’s leading technology experts, as hand-picked on an annual basis by the FISITA President and an international team of advisors.

This unique status launches at a time of significant technological advancement as the traditional automobile industry rapidly evolves. Technology and technologists are leading this evolution, with the technology of mobility creating a high demand for the engineering capability required to progress the connected, autonomous, smart, clean and safe mobility solutions of today and tomorrow.

The FISITA Academy of Technical Leadership places its recipients within an exclusive group of international technologists, with exclusivity ensured through a strict review and selection process, identifying no more than twenty outstanding achievers to the Academy each year.

Ensuring that only those contributing significant leadership to the international automotive and mobility systems engineering community will be acknowledged through appointment to the FISITA Academy of Technical Leadership.

2022 Academy Recipients

Mr. Vincent Braibant

VP Simulation & Test Solutions
Siemens

France

Mr. Nakul Duggal

Sr. Vice President & GM, Automotive
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

United States

Mr. Flavio Farroni

CEO & Co-Founder
MegaRide

Italy

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günther Prokop

Professor, Automotive Engineering
TU Dresden

Germany

Ing. Martin Hrdlička, Ph.D., MBA

Head of Chassis and Powertrain Development

SKODA AUTO

Czech Republic

Mr. Yoshufumi Kato

CTO and Head of Advanced Devices Business Group
DENSO

Japan

Dr. Deborah Mielewski

Technical Fellow of Sustainability

Ford Motor Company

United States

Prof. Kyoungdoug Min

Professor and Director of the Institute of Advance Machines and Design
Seoul National University (SNU)

Korea, Republic of

Ms. Carmen Munoz-Dormoy

Downstream R&D Director

EDF

France

Mr. Hiroaki Okuchi

Fellow

Toyota Motor Corporation

Japan

Ms. Moran Price

CoFounder & CEO

IRP Systems

Israel

Mr. Alain Raposo

EVP Electrified Propulsion Tech Unit, R&D Division
Hyundai Motor Group

Korea, Republic of

Dr. Feng Shen

Executive Vice President & Chairman of Global Quality Management Committee
NIO

China

2021 Academy Recipients

Mr. Christophe Aufrère

SVP Group CTO
Forvia

France

Prof. Chris Brace

Professor of Automotive Propulsion and Academic Director of the Institute Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems
University of Bath

United Kingdom

Ms. Michelle Gardner

Vice President, Global Hardware Components and Subsystems
General Motors

United States

Mr. Kunio Nakaguro

Nissan Motor Corporation

Japan

Mr. Doug L. Parks

Executive Vice President, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain
General Motors

United Kingdom

Prof. Dr. -Ing. Rodolfo Schöneburg

Previously Director Development Safety, Durability, Corrosion Protection
Mercedes-Benz

Germany

Mr. Hau Thai-Thang

Chief Product Platform and Operations Officer
Ford Motor Company

United States

Mr. Sijie Zu

Vice President and Chief Engineer
SIAC Motor

Korea, Republic of

2020 Academy Recipients

Dr. Amer Amer

Transport Chief Technologist
Aramco

Saudi Arabia

Mr. Mike Anderson

Vice President, Global Electrification and Battery Systems
General Motors

United States

Dipl. -Ing. Remi Bastien

FISITA Executive Board Member
FISITA

France

Dr. -Ing. Carles Grasas

Applus IDIADA

Spain

Ms. Denise Gray

President
LG Chem Michigan Inc. Tech Center

United States

Mr. Li Kaiguo

Chairman
CAERI – China Automotive Engineering Research Institute Co. Ltd

China

Mr. Gilles Le Borgne

Executive Vice President Engineering
Groupe Renault

France

Mr. Rajendra Petkar

President & Chief Technology Officer
Tata Motors Ltd

India

Mr. Matt Tsien

Previously Executive Vice President & CTO, President GM Ventures
General Motors

United States

Mr. Takeshi Uchiyamada

Chairman of the Board of Directors
Toyota Motor Corporation

Japan

Mr. Lian Yubo

Senior Vice President
BYD Automotive Industry Company Ltd

China

2019 Academy Recipients

Prof. Yasuhiro Daisho

Professor Emeritus
Waseda University

Japan

Dr. Volkmar Denner

Chairman of the Board of Management
Bosch Mobility

Germany

Mr. Daniel E. Nicholson

VP, Global Electrification, Controls, Software and Electronic Hardware
General Motors

United States

Ms. Pamela Fletcher

Vice President – Global Innovation and R&D Laboratories
General Motors

United States

Mr. Gaspar Gascon Abellan

Executive Vice President, Product Engineering
Groupe Renault

France

Dr. Pawan Goenka

Managing Director & CEO
Mahindra & Mahindra

India

Mr. Christophe Huss

Germany

Prof. Klaus Kompass

Vice President Vehicle Safety
BMW Group

India

Mr. Ola Källenius

Chairman of the Board of Management
Mercedes-Benz

Germany

Ms. Nadine Leclair

FISITA President & previously Senior Vice President, Expert Fellow at Groupe Renault
FISITA

France

Dr. Jun Li

Professor
Tsinghua University

China

Prof. Helmut List

Chairman & CEO
AVL List GmbH

Austria

Mr. Daniel M. Hancock

United States

Mr. Paul Mascarenas OBE

Independent Director, Business Advisor and Technology Executive

United States

Mr. James McKnight

United Kingdom

Mr. Toshihiro Mibe

President Representative Director
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Japan

Prof. Dr. -Ing. Stefan Pischinger

Chairman of the Shareholders’ Board
FEV Group GmbH

Germany

Mr. Ted Robertson

United States

Dr. Akihiko Saito

Japan

Mr. Hideyuki Sakamoto

Executive Officer and Executive Vice President
Nissan Motor Corporation

Japan

Mr. T. Russell Shields

United States

Mr. Motoo Suzuki

Chairman of the Board
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Japan

Mr. Shigeki Terashi

Executive Vice President, Member of the Board of Directors
Toyota Motor Corporation

Japan

Mr. Philippe Ventre

France

Dr. Ken Washington

United States

Mr. Fu Yuwu

Honorary President of China SAE

China

Prof. Frank Zhao

Professor and Director of Automotive Strategy Research Institute
Tsinghua University

China