Global automotive technology company, Luminar, has formed a new team of executive advisors tasked with enhancing vehicle safety and informing the company’s growth strategy.

The Luminar Automotive Council (LAC) brings together veteran industry leaders from the automotive, governmental, and other related sectors with decades of experience leading the world’s largest OEMs and automotive manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Jaguar Land Rover, and Ford, as well as the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Members will also advise Luminar on major industry trends, overall market conditions, and the regulatory environment, including “voice of the customer” feedback, the release states.

“The automotive industry stands at the crossroads today, as technology and consumer demand combine to create a new moment for safety and autonomy,” said Dieter Zetsche, former head of Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Board of Management CEO, in the release. “The opportunity is almost limitless, and I am happy to be collaborating with the Council and Luminar to facilitate new opportunities for Luminar and the greater adoption of its breakthrough safety advances.”

Luminar added in an emailed statement to RDN that the LAC will benefit automotive safety because, as “seasoned experts in the industry, they know what has and hasn’t been effective historically, and can help guide Luminar accordingly.”

The LAC members are:

• • Zetsche —  Held various positions during his career at Mercedes-Benz, including head of the Development Passenger Car Division. He was Daimler’s CEO from 2006-2019. Zetsche has been the chairman of the supervisory board of TUI AG, a travel and tourism company, since 2019.
  • Elaine Chao, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Transportation — At the U.S. Department of Transportation, she focused on keeping America’s transportation system safe and efficient and building a system for the future, including for autonomous vehicles. As Secretary of Labor, Chao worked on increasing the competitiveness of the American workforce in a global economy.
  • U.S. Army Ret. Brigadier Gen. Leo Austin Brooks Jr., The Boeing Corp. National Security and Space Group government operations vice president — Has held senior executive roles for nearly 20 years with The Boeing Co., including the defense, space and security VP. He also served in the Army for 27 years, receiving numerous awards and honors, and is a Council on Foreign Relations member.
  • Sir Ralf Speth, former Jaguar Land Rover CEO — Took the helm of JLR in early 2010 and became a member of the Tata Motors board later that year. In 2016, Ratan Tata appointed him to the Supervisory Board of Tata Sons Ltd. Speth is a professor at the University of Warwick and has been a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering since 2014. In 2015, he was appointed Knight of the British Empire (KBE). He was nominated as a non-executive director and vice chairman of the JLR Board following his retirement. He began his career at BMW, where he stayed for 20 years before joining Ford Motor Co.’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG) and later Linde Group, an international gases, materials handling, and engineering company.
  • Matthew Simoncini, Lear Corp. former CEO and CFO — Led the “dramatic turnaround” of the automobile seating and electrical systems manufacturer during his 10-plus-year tenure with Lear. He is a member of Luminar’s Board of Directors.
  • Jerome Guillen, Former Tesla automotive and heavy-duty trucking president — Experienced in automotive product development, engineering, sales, operations, service, and more. During his nearly 10 years at Tesla, Guillen held a variety of senior executive roles, including overseeing the Model S and the Semi. Before working at Tesla, he led the development of the Freightliner Cascadia for Daimler Trucks.
  • Joe Hinrichs, CSX president/CEO and former Ford president — Has spent over 30 years in the automotive industry, retiring as president of Ford’s global automotive business in 2020. He spent 10 years at General Motors and more than 19 years at Ford. He previously served as an advisor to Luminar.
  • Chris Charlton, Luminar’s Automotive Advisory Council chairman and The Charlton Group founder and chairman — A founder and sales liaison for worldwide manufacturers that supply products to automotive groups. Charlton has decades of experience “uncovering new opportunities and guiding clients to successful partnerships” with OEMs worldwide.

Luminar has its eye on enabling adoption at scale with its next-generation lidar, Luminar Halo, and the council will help foster key relationships with potential customers, OEMs, contract manufacturing partners, and other ecosystem players, according to a press release from Luminar.

The council plans to meet quarterly.

Images

Featured image: Luminar CEO and Founder Austin Russell speaks during CES 2024. (Teresa Moss/Repairer Driven News)