The Autonomous Main Event 2023

Oliver Hoffmann is the Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Management at AUDI AG, holding responsibility for the Technical Development division. He has a Master's degree in mechanical engineering and started his career in 2004 in the Technical Development division at Volkswagen AG. With over 15 years of experience at AUDI AG, he held various positions, including Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and Head of Powertrain Development.

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.

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.

As the VP of Global Government Affairs at Cruise, Prashanthi Raman has nearly 15 years of experience navigating complex political environments. She oversees public policy and regulatory issues worldwide for the all-electric, autonomous vehicle company. Previously, Prashanthi was Head of State and Local Government Relations at Lyft, where she played a key role in expanding the ridesharing industry across North America.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. ‌

Holger Löbel is the director of business processes and infrastructure and co-founder of BASELABS. He is further active as a senior business development manager. In the latter role, he is responsible for business development and key account management with a focus on the US and Scandinavian markets. He holds a business administration and science diploma from Chemnitz University of Technology. Prior to starting BASELABS, Holger worked as a Strategy Consultant at Infineon Technologies.

Enrico Salvatori is senior vice president & president of Qualcomm Europe, Middle East and Africa. In this role, Enrico is responsible for Qualcomm’s EMEA strategy, ensuring that OEMs and operators drive new technology adoption throughout all EMEA markets. His role oversees all areas of technology innovation, including smartphones, automotive, IOT, connectivity and the transition to 5G. Enrico joined Qualcomm in 2002 as a member of the product marketing team in Europe for QCT. He has a master’s degree in electronic engineering from the University of Rome.

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.