2020 Automotive Insights Conference
The Detroit Association of Business Economists, Detroit Regional Chamber and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago with cooperation from Wards Intelligence, LMC Automotive, and the Detroit Chamber presented the fourth annual Automotive Insights Conference. In past years, auto makers and suppliers were focused on the short-run demand for vehicles domestically and globally which were highly correlated to normal economic and business cycle pressures. However, as characteristics of personal mobility continue to evolve, traditional automakers, suppliers, and auto workers are focusing more on the long-run effects these changes will have on the automotive industry. This conference offered both the short-run sales and production outlooks while addressing some of the long-run changes to the industry through a series of presentations and panel discussions.
Sam Kahan will present this year’s economic update and outlook from the perspective of a seasoned economist with a multitude of experiences. Over the years, Sam has spent time as a money market economist, U.S. government securities dealer, a senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and he is presently the Chief Economist for ACT Research. In 2019 Sam was the recipient of the Lawrence R. Klein Award for most accurate economic forecasts for the 2015 to 2019 period.
The production forecast draws on WardsAuto’s unique industry perspective and experience to provide insights into automotive manufacturers’ production plans.
LMC Automotive is a market leader in the provision of automotive intelligence and forecasts to an extensive client base of car and truck makers, component manufacturers and suppliers, financial, logistics and government institutions around the world and is highly respected for its extremely responsive customer support. LMC will offer a global outlook covering global sales and production for light vehicles.
Kristen Dziczek is a globally recognized expert on automotive labor, employment, and talent issues, especially on the topic of labor union relations and contracts. Kristin will focus on the most recent contract negotiation between the UAW and the Detroit 3 automotive manufacturers in a this presentation.
Glenn Stevens has more than 25 years of experience across the automotive, steel, specialty chemicals, and capital equipment industries. In his current role as executive director of MICHauto, Stevens provides strategic direction and leadership to the MICHauto program in its efforts to promote, grow, and regain Michigan's automotive and next-generation mobility industries. Stevens will open this session with a short presentation on the state of the automotive and mobility industries in Michigan. Following the presentation, Stevens will have a panel discussion with Alisyn Malek, COO and co-founder of May Mobility, and Ian Simmons, vice president, Research and Development, Magna International, examining the collaboration and partnerships that have evolved between traditional automotive companies and new mobility startups. Before co-founding May Mobility with the vision of transforming cities through autonomous technology, Malek played a key role in helping GM cement its autonomous strategy. Ian has served as VP of Research and Development for Magna since 2012, where his role includes validating innovation opportunities for Magna along with developing cooperative relationships with customers, as well as corporate venture groups, government agencies, educational communities, and other research institutions. Prior to joining Magna in 2003, Simmons worked for the Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen, and Porsche Engineering.
