The Autonomous Main Event 2024

With over 32 years of experience in the automotive and technology industry, Ricky Hudi acts as Chairman of The Autonomous. Passionate about innovation and the development of autonomous driving technologies, Ricky is a true pioneer in the mobility sector. After holding various roles at BMW AG and AUDI AG he took over in January 2009 as EVP Development Electrical/Electronic AUDI AG. He also founded his own company “FMT – Future Mobility Technologies” and is leveraging a world-wide network of key players in the autonomous driving industry.

Maria Anhalt is Chief Executive Officer at Elektrobit Automotive GmbH, an award-winning software company and developer of embedded software products for the automotive industry. Prior to joining Elektrobit, she worked as Senior Vice President, Head of Cross Divisional Systems & Technology at Continental for two years. Earlier in her career, Maria Anhalt worked at HP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Micro Focus in various business management, business development and R&D management positions, especially regarding Hybrid Cloud and Automation Software.

Lars Reger is executive vice president and chief technology officer for NXP Semiconductors. He is responsible for managing new business activities, R&D in automotive, industry 4.0, the internet of things (IoT), mobile and connectivity & infrastructure. Prior to joining NXP as CTO of the automotive division in 2008, he was responsible for business development and product management within Continental’s connectivity business unit. In December 2018, Lars was appointed NXP’s CTO and has since then been responsible for the technology portfolio of NXP.

Phil Koopman is an internationally recognized expert on autonomous vehicle safety whose work spans over 25 years. Phil has been actively involved with AV policy and standards as well as more general embedded system design and software quality. He was the principal technical contributor to the UL 4600 standard for autonomous system safety issued in 2020. An Associate Professor at the Carnegie Mellon University ECE department, he teaches software skills for mission-critical systems.

Sascha Meyer is CEO at MOIA GmbH. Previously, he was already primarily responsible for the development of the all-electric MOIA Ridepooling service and the activities in the field of autonomous driving as Head of Product since 2017 and Chief Product Officer since 2019. With the MOIA Ridepooling service, he not only brings a fleet of 515 battery-electric vehicles to Hamburg, but also contributes to the mobility transition - with the continuous goal of ensuring that shared mobility is an attractive alternative for all Hamburg residents.

Peter Schiefer has been President of the Automotive Division since July 2016. He joined Infineon (Siemens AG until 1999) in 1990. For many years, Peter Schiefer has been responsible for Operations and Business Management in various executive units at Infineon. He has worked closely with all international production sites as well as with global purchasing. He is also the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors in the SIAPM joint venture (SAIC Infineon Automotive Power Modules [Shanghai] Co., Ltd.).

Dr. Dirk Linzmeier, CEO at TTTech Auto brings 20+ years of automotive industry experience. Before joining TTTech Auto, he was CEO of OSRAM Continental, a joint venture between OSRAM GmbH and Continental AG with 1,500 employees. At Bosch, Dirk Linzmeier held executive positions in the development of driver assistance systems and automotive electronics in Germany and China. He began his career as a development engineer in research at DaimlerChrysler, where he earned his doctorate in the field of radar- and infrared-based assistance systems.

Bernhard held various positions in ADAS/AD development with AUDI and Cariad. He started his career in the semiconductor industry at Infineon in ASIC design and product marketing. After several years in startups, he joined AUDI in the development of body electronics. His current focus is on ADAS architecture and compute platforms.

Benedikt Wolfers is a founding partner of POSSER SPIETH WOLFERS & PARTNERS (pswp), a law firm specialized in national and international regulation for different industries, notably automotive, energy, finance and infrastructure. He has been engaged for many years in the design and approval process for SAE L3 and 4 systems and the development of homologation and road traffic law. He is advising OEMs, semiconductors, tier 1 companies in Europe and the US and has long-standing experience with national and international regulatory bodies and governments.

Sara Schneider is the Director of Autonomy Technical Program Management at Aurora where she oversees the work of the Perception, Motion Planning, Data Labeling, Controls, Mapping, and Localization teams. Sara's prior career experience has been in the medical device industry, where she served as an engineer and technical program manager in the area of medical robotics, launching several robotic-assisted surgical platforms for knee and hip replacement procedures. Sara enjoys translating this experience into the AV industry.

Jürgen started as an attorney at Daimler. Over the years, he handled purchasing law, logistics, and IT for smart and Daimler Chrysler. He then joined Mercedes-Benz Cars and Vans' procurement in 2003. After leading the export department at Mercedes-Benz South Africa, he returned to Germany as Divisional Compliance Officer. In 2016, he became Head of Legal Processes and Prevention. Currently, as VP Legal Product & Technical Compliance at Mercedes-Benz Group AG, he also serves as Chief Compliance Officer and Human Rights Officer.

On 11 January 2021, Martin Kocher was appointed Federal Minister for Labour, Family and Youth by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. With the amendment of the Ministerial Law, the areas of Family and Youth have been transferred to the Federal Chancellery. Since 1 February 2021, Martin Kocher is Federal Minister for Labour. Martin Kocher was appointed as Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs on 11 May 2022. Since 18 July 2022, Martin Kocher is Federal Minister of Labour and Economy.

Sun-Mi Choi is Vice President of Global Business Development at Plus, where she leverages her expertise in the new mobility landscape and global market understanding to build meaningful partnerships to support Plus’s global deployment of its autonomous driving technology. Prior to Plus, Sun-Mi spent a decade at Bosch, starting in Bosch’s corporate headquarters for Marketing and Sales in Stuttgart, then relocating to Shanghai, where she served as Chief of Staff to the Board Member responsible for Asia Pacific.

Simon Fürst is currently Cooperation Manager Automated Driving at BMW Group. Till 2017, he has been responsible for AUTOSAR at BMW Group and in the partnership. He was one of the key authors of the software parts of ISO 26262. Since 2018 he has multiple management roles in the automated driving & driver assistant systems division. From 2020 till 2022, he was convener of the newly started ISO TC22/SC32/WG13 "Safety of automated driving systems.

Johannes Deichmann is Partner with Digital McKinsey, Germany, leading the global initiative on SW in automotive and McKinsey Industrial Software Hub in Europe. He is a leading expert in automotive software and electronics, automotive industry disruptions (connected and autonomous cars), and digital technologies and strategy. Johannes is supporting clients in the automotive industry in transitioning from hardware-oriented companies towards software-enabled companies.

Dr. Stefan Poledna is the co‐founder of TTTech Group and CTO at TTTech Auto. He is responsible for the technology roadmap, all scientific topics and quality management in both companies. Dr. Stefan Poledna has over 30 years of international industry experience in innovative embedded systems development. He has authored several patents with a focus on safety, communication, and automated driving. He received his Ph.D. degree in computer science with distinction from Vienna University of Technology, where he also lectures on Dependable Computer Systems.

Johann Jungwirth leads Mobileye’s AV group and is responsible for the development and releases of Mobileye's L2+ to L5 AV products, including Mobileye SuperVision, Mobileye Chauffeur and Mobileye Drive. He is also responsible for the global deployment and rollout of Mobileye’s Mobility-as-a-Service business based on self-driving vehicles, including the global MaaS scale-out strategy, vehicle programs, fleets, mobility platform and services. Before joining Mobileye in 2019, he held engineering leadership roles at some of the world’s biggest automakers.

John Wall, the senior vice president and head of BlackBerry QNX, assumes responsibility for guiding the company's course and overseeing its operations. His role encompasses the planning, design, and development of BlackBerry QNX's products, as well as providing engineering services such as design consulting and custom engineering. Mr. Wall's tenure with BlackBerry QNX dates back to 1993, during which he has occupied various positions. He holds a Bachelor's of Engineering in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Carleton University in Ottawa.

Georg Kopetz is co-founder, CEO and member of the executive board at TTTech. As the company’s Chief Executive Officer, he is responsible for the overall strategy of the corporation, marketing, sales, finance and human resources. He also serves as the President of TTTech’s joint-venture company TTControl in Brixen/Bressanone, Italy. After attending school in Germany, Austria and the US, he studied law at the University of Vienna in Austria and at the Université Paris II (Panthéon-Assas) in France.

Michael Wiesinger is the Vice President of Commercialization at Kodiak Robotics. He drives business development and major partnerships and defines Kodiak's commercial products to optimize value for customers. His career in automotive and supply chain industries includes work at Detroit Diesel, BCG, and Ware2Go. Michael also launched a ride pooling service for Gett in London. He holds a Master's in Industrial Engineering from Vienna University of Technology and a Master's in Management from Vienna University of Economics and Business

Carter Stern is the Director of Global Government Affairs for Cruise, the all-electric, autonomous vehicle company. He handles Cruise's governmental affairs and regulatory strategy around the world. Carter began his career as a trial attorney, representing major road builders and tire manufacturers in cases involving catastrophic accidents. This experience piqued his interest in road safety and transportation work. Then he moved into the tech policy space, focusing on transportation and infrastructure.

Oren is a seasoned technology leader with 15+ years of experience in leading large-scale R&D organizations and designing complex electro-optics and communication systems. Prior to co-founding Innoviz, Oren was responsible for the HW system design at ConsumerPhysics, as well as for managing the company’s launch of its first consumer product and leading several development and design projects. Oren holds a BSc in Physics, a BSc in Electrical Engineering, an MSc in Electro-optical Engineering and an MBA, all from Tel Aviv University and all summa cum laude.

Young Sohn is a Silicon Valley business executive and investor. He is currently a Founding Managing Partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures, an over $550M early-stage venture capital fund dedicated to deep-tech investments focused on data & AI across North America, Europe, and Israel. Previously Corporate President and Chief Strategy Officer for Samsung Electronics, as well as CEO of two Silicon Valley public companies (Inphi, Oak) and board member of Arm, Cadence, Cymer (ASML), and others, he now serves as Chairman of the Board of HARMAN International.

Ralf G. Herrtwich leads automotive software development at NVIDIA in Europe, specializing in AI for autonomous vehicles and advanced cockpit solutions. He oversees teams deploying new in-car architectures and data-center-based software factories for continuous updates. With prior management roles at IBM, Mercedes-Benz, and HERE Technologies, Dr. Herrtwich began his career in academia and is now an honorary professor at the Technical University of Berlin. He is also a Fellow of the German Computer Science Society.

Christian Sobottka is President of Automotive at HARMAN. In this role, he heads the company’s Intelligent Cockpit, Car Audio, Connectivity and Engineering Services businesses, establishing HARMAN as the leading supplier of automotive electronics focused on in-cabin experiences and the technology partner of choice in today’s rapidly transforming automotive industry. A forward-thinking, entrepreneurial leader, Christian has over 25 years of international automotive experience in powertrain, chassis systems, automotive electronics and software.

Philip Schreiner, Head of The Autonomous, has been driving the initiative right from the start. Alongside his team, he's been key to growing the ecosystem and getting the right industry players on board for a successful project journey. Starting in February 2023, he's also taken on the role of Director of Global Marketing at TTTech Auto, adding another exciting layer to his responsibilities.

Alejandro Vukotich serves as Vice President, Product Management at Qualcomm CDMA Technologies GmbH where he is responsible for Qualcomm’s global advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS)/autonomous driving (AD) roadmap and ecosystem. He works with internal SoC, product platform, software and stack teams, as well as external customers and partners, to successfully drive and scale Qualcomm Technologies ADAS and AD efforts. He brings more than 20 years of experience developing and successfully commercializing driver assistance and safety systems.

William H. Widen is a Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables, Florida. He is a cum laude graduate with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an A.B. in philosophy with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Before joining the legal academy, he was a partner in the New York office of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, practicing in the corporate department.

With over 20 years of experience in vehicle engineering and embedded software development, Wenchao Wang possesses deep insights into the trend of software-defined vehicles. In this software-centered era of the automotive industry revolution, he has taken the lead in defining the HPC and Zonal EE architecture. Additionally, he is spearheading efforts to establish Geely Automotive Research Institute's competitive capability in vehicle software engineering.

Dr. Robin Schubert is the co-founder and CEO of BASELABS. He has more than 15 years of experience in perception and sensor fusion. Since 2012, he has built BASELABS’s business following the company’s mission of turning sensor data into reliable automated driving decisions.

Richard Damm is President of the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, KBA) in Germany. He is also chairman of the UNECE Working Party on Automated, Autonomous and Connected Vehicles in Geneva where the globally effective regulations on automation of vehicles are generated. Before being appointed President of KBA, Mr. Damm served at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in Bonn and Berlin. Richard is an internationally recognized expert in the field of the worldwide harmonization of vehicle regulations.

Junko Yoshida has always been a “roving reporter” in the most literal sense. After logging 11 years of international experience at a Japanese consumer electronics company, Junko pursued a peripatetic journalism career, breaking stories and securing exclusives. She writes and speaks authoritatively on consumer electronics, automotive, semiconductors, emerging technologies, technology’s impact on people & society and intellectual property, with a deep understanding of the business strategies that companies are pursuing to compete on a global scale. ‌

Jennifer has spent her entire adult life on stages, in front of the camera or at the microphone, in Trinidad &Tobago, the UAE and Europe working as a performing artist, presenter and voice over artist. Additionally she studied media management and media journalism and is currently doing her master's in business psychology. Continuously learning and receiving new perspectives is her great passion. In her free time she loves to travel to new places, spend time with friends and family or try out any kind of sport.

Martin Törngren is a Professor in Embedded Control Systems at the Mechatronics division of the KTH Department of Machine Design. He has authored/co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications. He served as the technical coordinator of the international iFEST ARTEMIS project with 21 partners. From 1999-2004 he served as the Chairman of the Swedish real-time systems association, and he has represented KTH as a core partner in the EU networks of excellence in Embedded systems design, Artist2 and ArtistDesign, and in the Artemis industrial association.