Speakers

Bill Bliem – Senior Vice President, Fleet Services, NFI Industries

Bill Bliem, Senior Vice President of Fleet Services at NFI, oversees the end-to-end management and maintenance of the company’s truck fleet and material handling equipment. Additionally, Bliem and his team manage NFI’s purchasing, licensing/tolls, and fuel departments. Today, NFI operates more than 4,200 tractors and over 12,000 trailers and chassis. The team also leads the company’s sustainability initiatives by identifying and implementing new technology to improve aerodynamics, fuel efficiency, and emissions.

Chad Burchett – Chief Project Manager, Volvo Group

Chad Burchett is the Chief Project Manager of VNR Electric and supports the Volvo LIGHTS Project for the delivery of the VNR Electric to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. By promoting the company’s global solutions and key technology, he has been the architect of the VNR Electric from its beginning. Chad has been at the Volvo Group for 21 years in various positions within Engineering, Manufacturing, and Project Management at multiple sites in the United States and Europe. He holds six granted patents and many more patents pending which comprise from various control systems, chassis integration, as well as battery mounting systems.

Curt Castagna – President/CEO, Aeroplex/Aerolease Group

Curt Castagna is President and CEO of the Aeroplex and Aerolease business entities which includes general aviation and business aircraft centers located at the Long Beach and Van Nuys Airports. He has overseen the complete development, construction, management, leasing, sales, service and promotion of complex and diverse projects nationally. Castagna is the current chair of the board of directors for the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and is a certified member of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). Together with industry experienced partners, he has provided consulting services and strategic counsel to a wide range of aviation industry clients and airports.

Jay Craig – Chief Executive Officer and President, Meritor

Jeffrey “Jay” Craig is chief executive officer and president of Meritor, Inc.

Previously, he was president and chief operating officer (COO), with oversight of Meritor’s business segments – Commercial Truck & Industrial and Aftermarket & Trailer. He has been a member of the Meritor Board of Directors since April 2015.

Prior to taking on the role of president and COO, Craig was senior vice president and president of Meritor’s Commercial Truck & Industrial segment. He served as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Meritor from 2009 to 2013 and has held various leadership positions at the company since 2006.

Before joining Meritor, Craig served as president and CEO of General Motors Acceptance Corp.’s (GMAC) Commercial Finance organization from 2001 to 2006. Prior to that, Craig was president and CEO of GMAC’s Business Credit division from 1999 until 2001. He joined GMAC as a general auditor in 1997 from Deloitte & Touche, where he served as an audit partner.

Craig holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

He is chairman of the Board of Directors, Focus: HOPE; a member of the Board of Directors, Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association; a member of the Board of Directors, Arcosa Corp.; and a member of the Dean’s Advisory
Board at Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business.

Han Dinh – Program Director for Vehicle Engineering, United States Postal Service

Josh Eichman – Senior Research Engineer, NREL

Josh Eichman has over a decade of research experience in the energy system modeling and analytics area. His interests focus on better optimizing the use of current and emerging energy technologies to support high renewable electricity and gas grids. In his current role at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory he is exploring planning and operation of grid systems, technoeconomic valuation and integration of renewable generation, energy storage, demand response and electric transportation into the electricity and natural gas networks. Prior to his position at NREL Josh participated in the Department of Energy’s EERE Postdoctoral Fellowship program.

Eric Foellmer – Director of Marketing, XL Fleet

Eric Foellmer is XL Fleet’s Director of Marketing and is responsible for leading the marketing strategy and driving awareness for the company and its products to fleets throughout North America. Eric is an evangelist for fleet electrification who speaks at industry events around the country and has been featured in technology segments in TIME magazine, Automotive Fleet, NBC, FOX and Sirius XM.

Michael Foster – Chief Technology Officer, Allison Transmission

Dave Genise – Project Strategy, Eaton

Dave Genise leads product strategy for Eaton eMobility’s growing line of transmissions for electrified commercial vehicles. He has worked in product development at Detroit Diesel, Ford, and for the last twenty-one years with Eaton where he most recently was involved in creating the eMobility business unit. Embracing an electrified commercial vehicle world, Eaton is committed to providing power electronics, power protection and driveline solutions meeting reliability expectations the brand is known for.

Sean Gouda – Manager of Electrification Business Development, DTE Energy

Sean Gouda is a Manager for DTE a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services. Sean’s team supports Governments, Institutions, Non-profits and Commercial and Industrial Customers that are converting end uses that were traditionally powered by fossil fuels to electricity. The team offers consulting and program management services supporting key stakeholder transitions into this emerging market.

Prior to leading DTE’s Electrification Business Development Team, Sean was Manager of DTE’s Business Energy Account Management Team responsible for the retention and growth of a $207 million C&I customer portfolio.

John Groden – Vice President, Colonial Airport Parking

John Groden has over 20 years of fleet management experience. He began working with Colonial Parking of Philadelphia in 2002 and managed the parking for the Crozer-Keystone Health System in Delaware County, PA for eight years; which consists of five hospitals. In 2010, he transferred to Colonial Airport Parking and in April of 2015 he was appointed the Chairman of the Off-Airport Parking Network for the National Parking Association. Colonial Airport Parking operates a fleet of ten shuttle buses that are 100% propane dedicated.

Craig Harper – Chief Operations Officer, J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc.

Gregor Hintler – Head of USA, The Mobility House

Greg leads The Mobility House’s expansion in the U.S. market. The focus of Greg’s professional career has been on the intersection of the mobility and energy industries. Prior to The Mobility House, Greg built digital products at Lab1886 – Mercedes Benz’s Incubator in Silicon Valley and developed growth strategies and financing mechanism for new energy technologies at NRG Energy and Meister Consultants Group.

Gary Horvat – Vice President of eMobility, Navistar

Gary Horvat Vice President of eMobility at Navistar, has over 35 years of experience in the automotive industry. At Navistar he is responsible for augmenting and aligning Navistar’s eMobility team in all commercial, technical, and implementation activities for Navistar’s various product lines. Gary started his career at Eaton Corporation working on Heavy Duty Truck Axles and Transmissions and the majority of his career at General Motors where he was responsible for the engine controls on the third-generation small block V8 and as assistant chief engineer, launched the 3900 V6 Engine, winning the Popular Mechanics “Breakthrough” Award. At Proterra, Horvat was responsible for all engineering and technology development for that company’s electric bus product line and set a world record of 1101.2 miles for the longest range of any electric vehicle on one charge.

Dr. Holmes Hummel – Founder, Clean Energy Works

Dr. Holmes Hummel founded Clean Energy Works to accelerate investments in the clean energy economy through utility financing. As a champion for the Pay As You Save® (PAYS) system, Dr. Hummel led Clean Energy Works to win four international searches for breakthrough climate strategies, including the FiRe Award for high-impact innovation at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance “Future of Energy Summit.” PAYS for Clean Transport was endorsed by the Global Lab for Climate Finance as a top finance instrument in 2018, and won the Keeling Curve Prize for Finance in 2019. Previously, Dr. Hummel served for four years as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Department of Energy’s policy office, and among other responsibilities, led the agency’s finance working group.

Sid Kakodkar – EV Solutions Engineer, Geotab

Sid Kakodkar is an Electric Vehicle (EV) Solutions Engineer at Geotab. With a focus on Medium and Heavy Duty Electric Vehicles, Sid works with OEMs and fleets get the most out of the Goetab product suite. Sid also helps fleets transition to EVs and operate efficiently by leveraging data and analytics. Prior to joining Geotab, Sid led the University of Waterloo’s EcoCAR3 program, and held internships at Tesla Inc and General Motors.

James Kamsickas – CEO and President, Dana Inc.

James K. Kamsickas is president, chief executive officer, and a director of Dana Incorporated, which supplies engineered solutions that improve the efficiency, performance, and sustainability of powered vehicles and machinery around the world. Mr. Kamsickas is one of the most experienced and longstanding industry veterans with more than 30 years in the mobility business, spanning the light-vehicle, commercial-vehicle, and off-highway segments.  He has led global organizations that supply significant vehicle content, including powertrains, interiors, acoustics, exteriors, seating, electrodynamics, sealing, thermal, industrial motion, aftermarket components, and systems.

Sandeep Kar – Chief Strategy Officer, Fleet Complete

Sandeep Kar is a global thought leader in the commercial vehicle industry. He leads corporate strategy at Fleet Complete with a mission of developing the company as a leading global provider of connected vehicle IoT solutions for the widest array of commercial vehicle industry ecosystem partners. Sandeep is widely regarded as a global expert and leader in commercial vehicle market and technology strategy development and works closely with OEMs and suppliers in developing strategic partnerships that enable companies to grow faster through effective leveraging of advanced technologies and globalized operating conditions. Sandeep routinely speaks at many industry events and is regularly quoted by media on issues of strategic importance to the commercial vehicle industry and serves in advisory boards of innovative companies, helping them find economies of scope and scale.

Alex Keros – Lead Architect , EV Charging at General Motors

Alex Keros, Lead Architect – EV Charging, is helping General Motors improve the electric vehicle consumer experience. In his role, he identifies and facilitates partnerships with key stakeholders such as EV charging companies, utility companies, policymakers and others to find the best solutions. Having joined the team after his role as Smart Cities Chief at Maven, Alex has extensive experience bringing together various stakeholders to create mobility solutions.

Vic LaRosa – Chief Executive Officer, President, and Co-Founder, Total Transportation Services (TTSI)

Michael Linse – Founder and Managing Director, Linse Capital

Michael Linse is the Founder and Managing Director of Linse Capital.  Linse Capital invests in late stage technology companies and all capital is raised on a deal-by-deal basis.  Prior to founding Linse Capital Michael was a partner at KPCB where he invested in growth businesses like ChargePoint, Proterra, uShip, Telogis, Inrix, Friedola, Hyla, UpWind, and Redaptive. Before joining KPCB, Michael worked at Goldman Sachs,  most recently as Managing Director of the companies alternative energy investing team.

Evan Lyall – President, ROUSH Enterprises

Evan Lyall began his career with Roush when it was JRPE and was part of the team that has led the company’s growth from 23 employees to over 4,000, with a global footprint and revenues approaching $500 million and was appointed CEO in 2001. He has been an integral part of the leadership team that transformed JRPE into Roush Enterprises. The Roush Enterprises companies include Roush Industries, a multinational firm engaged in engineering, product development, manufacturing; Roush Performance, developer and manufacturer of performance vehicles and products for the automotive aftermarket; and Roush CleanTech, developer and manufacturer of propane fuel systems for truck platforms serving the fleet vehicle market. Mr. Lyall also serves on the Board of Directors of Roush Fenway Racing (RFR), one of the world’s largest motorsports management organizations.

Matt McLelland – Innovation Strategist, Covenant Transport Services

Matt McLelland is the Innovation Strategist for Covenant Transportation Services, a premium service provider of transportation services with focus on temperature controlled products, regional, and long haul delivery.  Matt’s sole focus is to research current industry trends, emerging technologies, and meet with new startups in the logistics industry and evaluate their applicability to Covenant’s strategy of providing more affordable, safer delivery of products to our customers.   Matt regularly speaks at different national and regional events on supply chain trends and innovation.  His co-workers call him “Future-Man”.

Steven Moelk – Project Implementation Manager, IKEA Group

Steven Moelk is the Project Implementation Manager in the U.S. for the IKEA Zero Emission Delivery initiative. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring IKEA Retail U.S. fulfills its commitments to its global EV100 goals: to ultimately provide zero-emission home deliveries to all its customers by 2025. Prior to IKEA, Mr. Moelk worked in the final mile segment of the logistics industry. In 2001, he helped form Urban Express, which became New York’s largest same day delivery service and became the company’s CEO in 2008, after buying out the principal founder and helping the company triple in size.

Patty Monahan – Commissioner, California Energy Commission

Patty Monahan is one of five Commissioners on the California Energy Commission. Commissioner Monahan was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in April 2019. She fills the Commission’s Science/Engineering position, and is the lead commissioner on transportation. Prior to joining the Energy Commission, Commissioner Monahan was the transportation program director at the Energy Foundation and held positions at the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Mary Nichols – Chair, California Air Resources Board

Mary Nichols is the Chair of the California Air Resources Board, where she occupies the attorney seat. She has served on the Board under Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. (1975–82 and 2010–18), Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (2007–2010) and Governor Gavin Newsom (2019–present). She also served as California’s Secretary for Natural Resources (1999–2003), appointed by Gov. Gray Davis.

When not working for the State of California, Mary was a senior staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council; Assistant Administrator for US EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, in the administration of President William Jefferson Clinton; and headed the Institute of Environment and Sustainability at UCLA.

Over a career as an environmental lawyer spanning over 45 years, Mary Nichols has played a key role in California and the nation’s progress toward healthy air. She has also led the Board in crafting California’s internationally recognized climate action plan.

Andrew Papson – eMobility Advisor, Southern California Edison

Andrew Papson is an Advisor in the eMobility group of Southern California Edison, dedicated to accelerating the deployment of electric trucks and buses. His work in the Charge Ready Transport program contributes to SCE’s goal of building and deploying over 200,000 EV trucks and buses by 2030. Andrew’s role focuses on building partnerships with industry and agency stakeholders in truck and bus sectors. Through coordination with public sector partners, establishing industry working groups, and participating in industry events, Andrew is a conduit for engaging stakeholders in how to partner on large EV infrastructure projects and socializing information on technology and market readiness.

Brook Porter – Partner, G2VP

A respected investor, advisor and entrepreneur at the intersection of technology and sustainability, Brook Porter brings decades of energy, transportation and agriculture expertise to G2VP as a founding partner. Brook joined Kleiner Perkins in 2010, where he led investments within their Green Growth Fund in Farmers Edge (shares acquired), Turo, Uber, DJI and sits on the board of Proterra. A serial entrepreneur, Brook co-founded two sustainable transportation companies prior to joining Kleiner Perkins: Intelligent Energy, a fuel cell technology company and Primafuel, a low-carbon fuels company. Brook is also named on multiple U.S. and international patents in the field of renewable energy, and transportation.

Carlton Rose – President of Global Fleet Maintenance & Engineering , UPS

Carlton Rose is President, Global Fleet Maintenance & Engineering for UPS. He is responsible for all facets of global automotive engineering including inventory and asset management, safety performance, procurement of a vehicle fleet of package cars, tractors, trailers and containers, and airport gateway ground support equipment totaling over 380,000 pieces. Other responsibilities include vision and strategy development, training and education, cost planning, cost analysis, people development, and career and succession planning. Rose leads a dedicated team of nearly 8,000 managers, supervisors, and technicians that support 481,000 employees throughout the world and oversees an annual budget of more than $2.5 billion, which does not include fuel expense.

Sherry Sanger – Executive Vice President of Marketing, Penske Transportation Solutions

Sherry Sanger is Executive Vice President of Marketing for Penske Transportation Solutions, an $8.4 billion leader in transportation and logistics, whose businesses include Penske Truck Leasing, Penske Logistics, Epes Transport Systems, and Penske Vehicle Services. She leads Penske Transportation Solutions’ global strategic marketing function including its efforts around connected, autonomous, shared, and electric vehicles; market intelligence; and customer experience.

Alexander Schabert – Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, ViriCiti

Alexander Schabert is Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of ViriCiti- the monitoring solution for commercial electric fleets. ViriCiti is the leading telematics solution for electric buses and trucks. Since 2012, Alex spends his time and energy working with transit agencies and operators across North America and Europe to effectively scale EV fleets.

John Sears – Head of Fleet Data Science, KeepTruckin

John Sears is Head of Fleet Data Science at KeepTruckin and leads modeling efforts related to safety, operational efficiency and asset utilization. Prior to KeepTruckin, he was a Senior Research Scientist at Uber, and also managed a data science team focusing on forecasting and budget optimization. Prior to Uber, he led statistical modeling efforts for the Philadelphia 76ers. He holds bachelor’s degree from Carleton College and a Masters from Stanford University.

Vic Shao – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AMPLY Power, Inc.

Vic Shao is the Founder & CEO of AMPLY Power and previously served as the Founder & CEO of Green Charge Networks (GCN), an energy storage company that manages electric demand and renewable deployment for commercial / industrial customers. After GCN became the largest distributed energy storage provider in the country, it was acquired by ENGIE in 2016. Vic went on to oversee global energy storage project development for ENGIE. Vic received his MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Anders Thulin – Business Development Manager, Siemens Industry, Inc.

Anders Thulin is a Siemens eMobility Business Development Manager supporting North American Utilities, Transits, and other fleet operators in electric vehicle charging infrastructure project deployment. Prior to his current role, Anders spent 12 years enabling Wind Power, Aerospace, and military defense projects in Washington D.C., Orlando, and Aarhus, Denmark. Anders holds a degree in International Politics from the George Washington University, in Washington D.C.

Dan Tram – Investment Director, Volvo Group Investment Capital

Dan Tram is the North America Investment Director at Volvo Group Venture Capital. His areas of focus include autonomous, electric and connected vehicles. Dan is responsible for sourcing and investing in new deals as well as managing portfolio companies. Over the course of his career he has completed $100 billion dollars in transactions through mergers and acquisitions, equity investments and venture capital investments including Time Warner Cable and Formula One investments.

Dr. Alicia Williams – GameChanger, Shell

Dr. Alicia Williams, GameChanger, Shell Alicia (Lee) Williams began her career with Shell after receiving her Doctorate from Louisiana State University in 2007.  Initially an Analytical Chemist, she spent most of her time in R&D and Manufacturing settings. After serving as a Quality Assurance and Quality Control Manager in Manufacturing, she moved to Houston for a role in Shell GameChangerTM.  As a Gamechanger, Lee actively scouts for innovators and ideas that can provide solutions to various energy challenges faced within Shell and ultimately determines technical and commercial viability of proposals submitted by external entrepreneurs and by tracking and evaluating potentially disruptive technologies, the Shell GameChanger team is able to identify opportunities and threats early, mitigate risks and deliver a high-value/high-novelty portfolio of options for Shell.