An agenda built through deep collaboration with our community to ensure every session delivers substance over soundbites. You’ll hear from true subject matter leaders via candid case studies, collaborative roundtables, and varied panel discussions —providing clarity on what’s driving success across the automotive landscape.
This interview will be moderated by a Reuters journalist under the Reuters Trust Principles
• Close the speed-to-market gap with next-gen operating models by breaking down silos and adopting faster, software-centric development to compete with Chinese OEMs building vehicles in half the time
• Turn SDV complexity into a competitive advantage by leveraging AI, data, and ecosystem partnerships to deliver differentiated experiences while controlling cost and risk
• Protect profitability in the transition to SDVs by balancing software innovation with affordability pressures, supply chain volatility, and rising development costs
Ramiro Gutierrez, President of North America, ZF Group
Abe Yacobian, Vice President & Head of Corporate Development & Strategic Initiatives, Americas, Mercedes-Benz
Invite Only - Aftermarket revenue under siege: stress-test your parts buying experience before your customers do
Aftermarket is one of the biggest profitability levers in automotive, but capturing it is getting harder. 70% of B2B buyers now prefer to purchase online, expecting speed, transparency, and convenience, but when genuine parts aren't easy to order digitally, buyers go to whoever makes it easiest, including non-genuine alternatives. And the damage goes beyond parts: a frustrating service experience makes customers less likely to buy their next vehicle from you. In this hands-on session, you'll stress-test your own parts buying experience against a real buyer scenario, benchmark against peers, and see how leading manufacturers built digital platforms that empower dealers and grow revenue. You'll walk away with:
• A clear view of where your parts revenue is leaking today, and why you can't see it.
• A practical framework to move from dealer locator to digital commerce, without channel conflict.
• A readiness check for the next shift in B2B buying: AI-driven procurement.
Kamal Kirpalani, Chief Revenue Officer for B2B, Mirakl
Henri Vallet, VP, Aftermarket, Manufacturing and Distribution, Mirakl
• Overcome perceptions that EVs compromise on performance by showcasing instant torque and agile control to expand its appeal to your customer base.
• Expand beyond superior performance and tech forward features to deliver a tranquil driving experience valued by car buyers through advancements in hardware technologies
• Elevate the sought after tranquil driving experience with advanced automation and intuitive smart features
Chris Lockett, SVP, Castrol ON
Ponz Pandikuthira, Senior Vice President - Chief Product & Planning Officer, Nissan
• Align silicon, OS, middleware, and applications into a unified stack to eliminate fragmentation and enable consistent performance across vehicle platforms
• Accelerate software deployment and validation by leveraging virtual environments, AI-enabled simulation, and cloud-native development to reduce costly late-stage rework
• Future-proof your architecture for continuous upgrades by building flexible, service-oriented layers that support OTA, AI integration, and evolving customer demands without redesigning the vehicle
Discover how advancements in sensing architectures are offering distinct advantages in terms of simplified integration and cost optimization, and enhanced environmental awareness.
• Discover how advancements in sensing architectures are offering distinct advantages in terms of simplified integration and cost optimization, and enhanced environmental awareness.
• Discuss whether to adopt edge AI or centralized compute architectures for real-time data processing.
• Learn about the new opportunities opened by intelligent chassis systems in the autonomous driving sector.
Humam M. Alwan, Global Reactive Problem-Solving Program Management Lead, Stellantis
Michael Crabtree, Director, Data Engineering, Ford
Mark Ng, Director of Automotive Systems, Texas Instruments
In a world of continuous disruption, trusted, connected data delivered in real-time is a must. Detecting risk early and running scenarios quickly to mitigate disruption is needed more than ever. Panellists will explore:
• How advanced technology and AI enable faster, more trusted decisions at scale
• How to deliver the leading indicators and supply chain narrative that secures investment in infrastructure and manages external shocks
• How to close the visibility gap between procurement intent and what is happening across your supplier network.
Mike Wall, Executive Director of Automotive Analysis, Mobility Global
Neil Marsons, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Lucid Motors
• Align procurement and engineering to deliver design‑to‑cost, modularity, and platform standardisation for U.S.‑built EVs.
• Use total‑cost‑of‑ownership models to balance domestic requirements, localisation costs, and logistics exposure.
• Deploy digital procurement tools and analytics to actively manage commodity volatility and to optimise supplier performance at North American scale.
• Explore how to monetize features-as-a-service, over-the-air updates and personalised in-cabin experiences to generate subscription revenues that sustain OEM profitability long after the initial sale.
• Close the smartphone-to-cockpit experience gap with AI-enabled personalization to build brand loyalty that insulates against competitors selling equivalent vehicles at cheaper prices.Â
• Explore how open API standards, in-car payment systems and personalised feature unlocks can transform the vehicle from a one-time transaction into a long-term revenue-generating platform.Â
• Solve the fragmented, multi-ECU legacy architecture that forces OEMs to validate dozens of interdependent systems for every single change, slowing development cycles and inflating costs
• Examine how centralised compute platforms and service-oriented architecture are enabling OEMs to compress vehicle development timelines and close the gap on competitors who design vehicles in half the time
• Accelerate the shift to a standardised SDV backbone so OEMs can deploy over-the-air updates, reduce warranty costs, and bring new features to market without requiring a dealer visit
• Pavankumar Surabathula, Head of Platform Products - MNO, Data & Remote Ops, Stellantis
• Rebuild supply chains for batteries, semiconductors and power electronics to secure long-term capacity and reduce dependency risk in EV production
• Strengthen supplier ecosystems through dual sourcing, regionalisation and tier visibility to improve resilience across increasingly complex global networks
• Balance cost, risk and flexibility by reassessing sourcing strategies and production footprints in the EV transition
Attendees will have the opportunity to sit down in roundtables for a peer-to-peer session, to share lessons learned and delve deeper into today’s topics, led by moderators at a table of your choice. Each roundtable discusses a theme and attendees can choose to join the session that best appeals to them.
• Transforming market intelligence into competitive advantage through AI systems that synthesize global competitor moves, regional demand shifts, and pricing patterns
• Align strategy to execution quickly by pushing insights directly into planning, sourcing, and commercial workflows—reducing decision latency across regions and product lines.
Kristen Balasia, SVP of Planning Solutions, Mobility Global
This interview will be moderated by a Reuters journalist under the Reuters Trust Principles
LIVE POLL: A live poll will take place before the panel with the audience, giving visibility to attendees’ thoughts on the emerging competition in the automotive sector. The panel will then discuss the live results and proceed to a discussion of the topic.
• Defend market share against faster, lower-cost global entrants by understanding where legacy OEMs are structurally disadvantaged on speed, cost, and user experience to win through scale, brand, and engineering heritage
• Balance short-term profitability with long-term portfolio transformation by aligning EV, ICE, and hybrid strategies to shifting demand, affordability pressures, and infrastructure realities without overexposing the business to stranded investments
• Turn geopolitical disruption into a competitive lever by navigating tariffs, localisation pressures, and supply chain fragmentation while using partnerships and regional strategies to control costs and maintain global competitiveness
Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Finance Officer, Lucid Motors
Marques McCammon, CEO, Karma Automotive
• Move beyond autonomous talk to examine how OEMs, AV developers and technology partners are commercialising autonomous capabilities today, from Level 2+ and Level 3 systems to geo-fenced autonomy and fleet applications.
• Explore viable business models for autonomy including premium feature unlocks, subscription-based ADAS, and mobility-as-a-service partnerships and how they are generating revenue while managing cost, liability and regulatory complexity.
• Understand the critical enablers for scaling deployment, from AI compute and sensor fusion to cloud, edge and data infrastructure, and how strategic partnerships across the ecosystem are accelerating time-to-market and unlocking competitive advantage.
• Separate AI-driven innovation from industry hype by examining which in-vehicle applications are market-ready today versus years away, helping decision-makers invest with confidence rather than caution.
• Unlock new revenue streams and cost efficiencies through AI-powered features from predictive maintenance and autonomous driving to personalised in-cabin experiences reducing warranty costs while increasing customer lifetime value
• Operationalize AI across the software-defined vehicle stack by integrating cloud, edge and data platforms to deliver faster feature rollouts, continuous upgrades and scalable software-led revenue growth.
Sharmishta Roy, Director Software & Data Engineering, Ford
• Develop a pragmatic, phased automation roadmap aligned to plant footprint, model mix transitions, platform consolidation, and capital cycles so programmes land on time and scale rather than stall in pilot mode.
• Build production systems by embedding flexible automation that absorbs demand volatility, labour constraints, and supply‑chain disruption without compromising takt time or quality.Â
• Unlock cross‑plant efficiency gains by standardising automation architectures, data models, and accelerate enterprise‑wide deployment.
• Shield drivers with a digital guardian by deploying AI-powered collision avoidance, adaptive cruise, and real-time hazard detection systems that reduce human-error incidents in critical driving moments.
• Enhance driver safety with intelligent monitoring systems that detect fatigue, distraction, and impaired behaviour, enabling proactive alerts and interventions before risks escalate.
• Strengthen in-vehicle decision-making by integrating AI that anticipates road conditions, optimises vehicle responses, and supports safer driving outcomes in dynamic, real-world environments.
• Accelerate production response by embedding predictive signals directly into the plant floor, enabling teams to identify disruptions early and maintain uninterrupted production flow.
• Eliminate decision lag by connecting OT systems, equipment data and production workflows in real time, allowing manufacturers to move from reactive firefighting to instant, data-driven intervention on the line.
• Enable fully connected manufacturing environments where data flows seamlessly across machines, lines and teams, driving higher uptime, improved throughput and consistent production performance shift after shift.
This interview will be moderated by a Reuters journalist under the Reuters Trust Principles
• Close the speed-to-market gap with next-gen operating models by breaking down silos and adopting faster, software-centric development to compete with Chinese OEMs building vehicles in half the time
• Turn SDV complexity into a competitive advantage by leveraging AI, data, and ecosystem partnerships to deliver differentiated experiences while controlling cost and risk
• Protect profitability in the transition to SDVs by balancing software innovation with affordability pressures, supply chain volatility, and rising development costs
Ramiro Gutierrez, President of North America, ZF Group
Abe Yacobian, Vice President & Head of Corporate Development & Strategic Initiatives, Americas, Mercedes-Benz
• Overcome perceptions that EVs compromise on performance by showcasing instant torque and agile control to expand its appeal to your customer base.
• Expand beyond superior performance and tech forward features to deliver a tranquil driving experience valued by car buyers through advancements in hardware technologies
• Elevate the sought after tranquil driving experience with advanced automation and intuitive smart features
Chris Lockett, SVP, Castrol ON
Ponz Pandikuthira, Senior Vice President - Chief Product & Planning Officer, Nissan
• Transforming market intelligence into competitive advantage through AI systems that synthesize global competitor moves, regional demand shifts, and pricing patterns
• Align strategy to execution quickly by pushing insights directly into planning, sourcing, and commercial workflows—reducing decision latency across regions and product lines.
Kristen Balasia, SVP of Planning Solutions, Mobility Global
This interview will be moderated by a Reuters journalist under the Reuters Trust Principles
LIVE POLL: A live poll will take place before the panel with the audience, giving visibility to attendees’ thoughts on the emerging competition in the automotive sector. The panel will then discuss the live results and proceed to a discussion of the topic.
• Defend market share against faster, lower-cost global entrants by understanding where legacy OEMs are structurally disadvantaged on speed, cost, and user experience to win through scale, brand, and engineering heritage
• Balance short-term profitability with long-term portfolio transformation by aligning EV, ICE, and hybrid strategies to shifting demand, affordability pressures, and infrastructure realities without overexposing the business to stranded investments
• Turn geopolitical disruption into a competitive lever by navigating tariffs, localization pressures, and supply chain fragmentation while using partnerships and regional strategies to control costs and maintain global competitiveness
Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Finance Officer, Lucid Motors
Marques McCammon, CEO, Karma Automotive
• Move beyond autonomous talk to examine how OEMs, AV developers and technology partners are commercializing autonomous capabilities today, from Level 2+ and Level 3 systems to geo-fenced autonomy and fleet applications.
• Explore viable business models for autonomy including premium feature unlocks, subscription-based ADAS, and mobility-as-a-service partnerships and how they are generating revenue while managing cost, liability and regulatory complexity.
• Understand the critical enablers for scaling deployment, from AI compute and sensor fusion to cloud, edge and data infrastructure, and how strategic partnerships across the ecosystem are accelerating time-to-market and unlocking competitive advantage.
• Align silicon, OS, middleware, and applications into a unified stack to eliminate fragmentation and enable consistent performance across vehicle platforms
• Accelerate software deployment and validation by leveraging virtual environments, AI-enabled simulation, and cloud-native development to reduce costly late-stage rework
• Future-proof your architecture for continuous upgrades by building flexible, service-oriented layers that support OTA, AI integration, and evolving customer demands without redesigning the vehicle
Discover how advancements in sensing architectures are offering distinct advantages in terms of simplified integration and cost optimization, and enhanced environmental awareness.
• Discover how advancements in sensing architectures are offering distinct advantages in terms of simplified integration and cost optimization, and enhanced environmental awareness.
• Discuss whether to adopt edge AI or centralized compute architectures for real-time data processing.
• Learn about the new opportunities opened by intelligent chassis systems in the autonomous driving sector.
Humam M. Alwan, Global Reactive Problem-Solving Program Management Lead, Stellantis
Michael Crabtree, Director, Data Engineering, Ford
Mark Ng, Director of Automotive Systems, Texas Instruments
• Explore how to monetize features-as-a-service, over-the-air updates and personalised in-cabin experiences to generate subscription revenues that sustain OEM profitability long after the initial sale.
• Close the smartphone-to-cockpit experience gap with AI-enabled personalization to build brand loyalty that insulates against competitors selling equivalent vehicles at cheaper prices.
• Explore how open API standards, in-car payment systems and personalised feature unlocks can transform the vehicle from a one-time transaction into a long-term revenue-generating platform.
• Solve the fragmented, multi-ECU legacy architecture that forces OEMs to validate dozens of interdependent systems for every single change, slowing development cycles and inflating costs
• Examine how centralised compute platforms and service-oriented architecture are enabling OEMs to compress vehicle development timelines and close the gap on competitors who design vehicles in half the time
• Accelerate the shift to a standardised SDV backbone so OEMs can deploy over-the-air updates, reduce warranty costs, and bring new features to market without requiring a dealer visit
Pavankumar Surabathula, Head of Platform Products - MNO, Data & Remote Ops, Stellantis
In a world of continuous disruption, trusted, connected data delivered in real-time is a must. Detecting risk early and running scenarios quickly to mitigate disruption is needed more than ever. Panelists will explore:
• How advanced technology and AI enable faster, more trusted decisions at scale
• How to deliver the leading indicators and supply chain narrative that secures investment in infrastructure and manages external shocks
• How to close the visibility gap between procurement intent and what is happening across your supplier network.
Mike Wall, Executive Director of Automotive Analysis, Mobility Global
Neil Marsons, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Lucid Motors
• Align procurement and engineering to deliver design‑to‑cost, modularity, and platform standardisation for U.S.‑built EVs.
• Use total‑cost‑of‑ownership models to balance domestic requirements, localisation costs, and logistics exposure.
• Deploy digital procurement tools and analytics to actively manage commodity volatility and to optimise supplier performance at North American scale.
• Rebuild supply chains for batteries, semiconductors and power electronics to secure long-term capacity and reduce dependency risk in EV production
• Strengthen supplier ecosystems through dual sourcing, regionalisation and tier visibility to improve resilience across increasingly complex global networks
• Balance cost, risk and flexibility by reassessing sourcing strategies and production footprints in the EV transition
• Separate AI-driven innovation from industry hype by examining which in-vehicle applications are market-ready today versus years away, helping decision-makers invest with confidence rather than caution.
• Unlock new revenue streams and cost efficiencies through AI-powered features from predictive maintenance and autonomous driving to personalised in-cabin experiences reducing warranty costs while increasing customer lifetime value
• Operationalize AI across the software-defined vehicle stack by integrating cloud, edge and data platforms to deliver faster feature rollouts, continuous upgrades and scalable software-led revenue growth.
Sharmishta Roy, Director Software & Data Engineering, Ford
• Shield drivers with a digital guardian by deploying AI-powered collision avoidance, adaptive cruise, and real-time hazard detection systems that reduce human-error incidents in critical driving moments.
• Enhance driver safety with intelligent monitoring systems that detect fatigue, distraction, and impaired behavior, enabling proactive alerts and interventions before risks escalate.
• Strengthen in-vehicle decision-making by integrating AI that anticipates road conditions, optimises vehicle responses, and supports safer driving outcomes in dynamic, real-world environments.
• Develop a pragmatic, phased automation roadmap aligned to plant footprint, model mix transitions, platform consolidation, and capital cycles so programmes land on time and scale rather than stall in pilot mode.
• Build production systems by embedding flexible automation that absorbs demand volatility, labour constraints, and supply‑chain disruption without compromising takt time or quality.
• Unlock cross‑plant efficiency gains by standardising automation architectures, data models, and accelerate enterprise‑wide deployment.
• Accelerate production response by embedding predictive signals directly into the plant floor, enabling teams to identify disruptions early and maintain uninterrupted production flow.
• Eliminate decision lag by connecting OT systems, equipment data and production workflows in real time, allowing manufacturers to move from reactive firefighting to instant, data-driven intervention on the line.
• Enable fully connected manufacturing environments where data flows seamlessly across machines, lines and teams, driving higher uptime, improved throughput and consistent production performance shift after shift.
Invite Only - Aftermarket revenue under siege: stress-test your parts buying experience before your customers do
Aftermarket is one of the biggest profitability levers in automotive, but capturing it is getting harder. 70% of B2B buyers now prefer to purchase online, expecting speed, transparency, and convenience, but when genuine parts aren't easy to order digitally, buyers go to whoever makes it easiest, including non-genuine alternatives. And the damage goes beyond parts: a frustrating service experience makes customers less likely to buy their next vehicle from you. In this hands-on session, you'll stress-test your own parts buying experience against a real buyer scenario, benchmark against peers, and see how leading manufacturers built digital platforms that empower dealers and grow revenue. You'll walk away with:
• A clear view of where your parts revenue is leaking today, and why you can't see it.
• A practical framework to move from dealer locator to digital commerce, without channel conflict.
• A readiness check for the next shift in B2B buying: AI-driven procurement.
Kamal Kirpalani, Chief Revenue Officer for B2B, Mirakl
Henri Vallet, VP, Aftermarket, Manufacturing and Distribution, Mirakl
