27th Annual Automotive Insights Symposium

Matt Blunt is the president of the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC) and the former governor of Missouri. He was elected Missouri’s 54th governor in 2004, carrying 101 of the state’s 114 counties. As governor, he erased a $1.1 billion budget deficit, cut taxes, enacted lawsuit reform, fostered a business climate that created over 70,000 new jobs, and increased education funding by $1.2 billion.

In 2011 American automakers appointed Blunt as AAPC’s president, in part because of his leadership as governor of one of the U.S. top automotive and component-producing states. Since taking the helm for AAPC, Blunt has raised awareness of the significant economic contributions FCA US LLC, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Company make to our nation’s economy.

Blunt has helped advocate for trade agreements that will allow for the export of more American-made vehicles to foreign markets and trade policies that help grow the U.S. economy as a whole, especially the auto sector and its extensive manufacturing supply chain. On behalf of AAPC’s member companies, he advocated for a twenty-first-century trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, in part by providing testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, as well as at trade forums.

Blunt has promoted the advancement of American automakers in quality, fuel efficiency, and innovation. He has also championed the acceptance of U.S. auto safety standards in foreign export markets.

Blunt graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in history. Upon leaving active duty in 1998, he remained in the U.S. Naval Reserve for nearly ten years and was mobilized for six months after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

John Bozzella, a veteran auto industry executive, is president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators). From 2014 until the establishment of Auto Innovators in January 2020, he served as president and CEO of the Association of Global Automakers, the trade association whose members included the U.S operations of international automobile and light-duty truck manufacturers that sold products in the United States. Previously, Bozzella served as a senior operating executive for Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company, LLC, where he worked with the firm and its portfolio companies on a range of public policy and economic development matters. He served as senior vice president of external affairs and public policy at Chrysler Group in 2009 and as vice president of external affairs and public policy for Chrysler LLC from 2007 to 2009. In this capacity, he mobilized government support to significantly restructure Chrysler. At Chrysler, Bozzella worked closely with the federal government and other automakers on a substantial advanced technology vehicle loan program and the development of new fuel economy standards. In addition, he worked with state governments to gain funding for restructuring, training, and development. From 2005 to 2007, Bozzella worked at DaimlerChrysler Corporation as vice president of external affairs and public policy for the Americas. Bozzella was with Ford Motor Company from 1994 to 2005 in positions in public policy, government and community relations, and labor relations. Prior to joining the automotive industry, Bozzella served as New York City’s director of state legislative affairs under Mayor David N. Dinkins. He began his career in public policy as the director of legislative and political action for the United Federation of Teachers. Bozzella is a graduate of Cornell University.

Brian Daugherty is the chief technology officer for the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) and its divisions. Daugherty drives MEMA’s strategic vision of advancing the business interests of the industry by serving as senior technical advisor on vehicle technology for MEMA’s executives and members.

Daugherty’s role at MEMA’s CTO is to advance members’ business interests related to the advanced vehicle technologies that are transforming opportunities and business models within the industry. He works to understand members’ technological needs and actively advocates on their behalf with regulators—such as the NHTSA—as well as with legislators and OEMs. Daugherty also provides thought leadership on the business impact of technologies, shares knowledge through forums and networking, and advances the supplier industry’s interests in areas such as safety systems, fuel economy, cybersecurity, connectivity, and vehicle automation. He participates on several SAE International committees and is MEMA’s representative for the Auto-ISAC. He is also a member of the American Trucking Association’s Technology Policy and Automated Truck Committees as well at the TMC’s Future Truck Committee.

Daugherty has extensive experience in existing and emerging vehicle technologies. Before joining MEMA, he was the director of global intellectual property for Visteon Corporation. At Visteon, he managed intellectual property and advanced development programs, including advanced driver assistance systems and vehicle-to-vehicle systems. Prior to that, Daugherty was Visteon’s director of global advanced development. During his 16-year tenure there, he was also responsible for blind spot detection systems for Honda and Chrysler and led the team that developed a FlexRay-based, fail-safe steer-by-wire system for GM’s Chevrolet Sequel. Prior to Visteon, Daugherty spent ten years at Ford Motor Company, where he worked on robotics and advanced manufacturing as well as the development of electric power steering systems and anti-lock braking systems. He received a BS from the University of Texas at Austin and an MS from Stanford University, both in mechanical engineering, and holds eight U.S. patents.

Kristin Dziczek is vice president of Industry, Labor & Economics at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). Dziczek joined CAR in 2005 and has more than 25 years of experience as a researcher and policy analyst. She is globally recognized as an expert on automotive labor, employment, and talent issues, especially on the topic of labor union relations and contracts; and she regularly presents at conferences and industry events throughout North America.

Dziczek leads the business team—a group whose expertise includes economic analysis, forecasting and modeling, policy, and economic development. The team’s research portfolio is focused on developing a better understanding of the connections between the automotive industry, technology, economy, society, and public policy, and is home to CAR’s Automotive Communities Partnership program. Dziczek’s research includes analyzing the competitive cost position of the U.S. automotive industry and evaluating how different tax, trade, or industrial policies and incentives could impact overall automotive sales, production, and employment.

Prior to joining CAR, Dziczek served as the associate director of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center and worked for the U.S. Congress, International Union UAW, and General Motors Corporation. She has published articles in the Monthly Labor Review, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Journal of Technology Transfer, and Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, among others. She earned her BA in economics, MPP in public policy, and MS in industrial and operations engineering, all from the University of Michigan.

Mike Jackson is the executive director, strategy and research at OESA. In this role, Mr. Jackson leads the association’s data compilation and analytics, identifies and researches industry trends, produces relevant analysis, and represents OESA at various speaking engagements as a subject matter expert regarding economic and related industry trends and analysis. Mr. Jackson has more than 20 years of progressive experience in strategic planning, market forecasting and management consulting. Most recently, Jackson directed the vehicle production forecasting practice in North America at IHS Markit where he was responsible for sharing trusted insight and fostering enduring relationships across a diverse global client base of automakers, suppliers and stakeholders. Prior, he served as director, vehicle production forecasting and senior manager, vehicle production forecasting at CSM Worldwide which was acquired by IHS in 2010. Mr. Jackson has also held senior market strategist positions at Alcoa Fujikura, Ltd (AFL) Automotive, Faurecia and Sommer Allibert. Mr. Jackson holds a bachelor of science in business, management strategy from Eastern Michigan University and a master of business administration in international business from Wayne State University. Jackson gained vital international industry experience during a multi-year stay, living and working in Germany, developing language fluency.

Andrew Koblenz is the National Automobile Dealers Association’s (NADA) executive vice president of legal and regulatory affairs, representing NADA and dealer interests before federal agencies, and general counsel. He supervises a staff of attorneys who specialize in franchise and state law, corporate law, and federal regulatory affairs.

Prior to his current position, Koblenz was vice president of NADA industry affairs from June 2001 to February 2006, directing the activities of NADA’s Industry Relations and Industry Analysis Departments, as well as the association’s American Truck Dealers (ATD) Division.

Previously, he served as NADA’s executive director and special counsel for industry affairs for two years, representing the interests of franchised automobile dealers in policy, operational, and other discussions with vehicle manufacturers.

Before joining NADA, Koblenz served five years as a senior attorney with the American Automobile Manufacturers Association. There he advised the association on a variety of issues, including those related sales, credit, leasing, and finance law; product safety and liability; intellectual property; and benefits and taxation.

From 1990 to 1994, he was a partner at the Washington, DC, law firm of Richardson, Berlin & Morvillo, where he specialized in corporate and securities matters.

Koblenz attended Union College in Schenectady, NY, and received his BA in political science in 1978. In 1981 he received his JD from Harvard Law School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the American Law Institute.

Martin Lavelle is a business economist in the research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Detroit Branch. Lavelle’s job responsibilities include economic research, education and outreach. His research revolves around the Michigan economy and its impact on the District and national economies. Specific topics include the auto industry, consumer spending, business activity and the U.S.-Canada border as well as working on the District’s contribution to the Beige Book. Also, he speaks to economics classes at area colleges and high schools. He has been an advisor and judge in the High School Fed Challenge Competition. In February 2012, Lavelle began a series of evening workshops for teachers and educators entitled “Night at the Fed” in which attendees learned more about economic entities and concepts that can be incorporated into classrooms and seminars. Lavelle serves as a contact for Michigan partners in the District’s Money Smart Week® initiative, which promotes financial literacy and awareness among consumers. In addition to his Federal Reserve work, Lavelle teaches managerial economics at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and volunteers with Junior Achievement, teaching high school students about entrepreneurship. Lavelle received his B.S. in business and M.A. in economics from Miami University in Oxford, OH.

Mary Lovely is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a professor of economics and the Melvin A. Eggers Faculty Scholar at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, where she combines interests in international economics and China’s development. During 2011–15, she served as co-editor of the China Economic Review. Her current research projects investigate the effect of China’s foreign direct investment policies on trade flows and entry mode, the relationship between proximity to export markets and cross-city wage variation, and the influence of Chinese tariff reductions on labor shares of value in its manufacturing firms. She recently completed studies of American manufacturing employment and outsourcing to low-income countries, the role of intellectual returnees in the success of China’s photovoltaic solar industry, and the structure of Chinese reforms of state-owned enterprises. Lovely earned her PhD in economics at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Harvard University.

Rick Mattoon is vice president and regional executive, Detroit branch, in the economic research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Mattoon's primary research focuses on issues that face the Midwest regional economy. Mattoon began his career at the Chicago Fed in 1990. In 1997, he left the bank to serve as a policy advisor for economic development, energy and telecommunications to the Governor of Washington. He later served as director of policy and legislation for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. He returned to the bank in 2001. Mattoon's work has appeared in the National Tax Journal, State Tax Notes, Public Choice and Society. He is the co-author of a chapter on state and local governments and the national economy in the Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government Finance. Mattoon serves on the Board of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council, the Advisory Committee to the Chicago Workforce Investment Council, the pension committee of the Civic Federation and is a member of the Joint Advisory Board of Economists to the Governor of Virginia. He also serves as a lecturer at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Mattoon received a B.A. from Kenyon College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago.

Emily Kolinski Morris joined Ford Motor Company in 1997. After joining Ford, she conducted economic analysis in varying roles for all of Ford’s major global markets before becoming its chief economist in 2014. In this capacity, Morris manages the corporate economics group with major responsibility for the company’s global economic and automotive industry forecasts supporting business strategy, finance, and planning.

Prior to joining Ford, Morris spent four years as a fiscal analyst with the Michigan House of Representatives. In that nonpartisan position, she provided counsel to House members on program funding and performance, testified regularly before the House Appropriations Committee, and interacted with stakeholders at all levels of state government.

Morris holds a PhD in economics from the University of Michigan. She is active in various professional organizations, and currently serves on the board of the Council for Economic Education and as a member of the University of Michigan–Dearborn Citizen’s Advisory Committee and the Conference of Business Economists. She previously served a three-year term as an elected board member of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and is also a past president of the Detroit chapter of that organization. In 2015 she earned the designation of Certified Business Economist granted by NABE.

Doug Newcomb has been covering car technology as a journalist for over 25 years and is a recognized expert on the subject of the connected car and mobility. He has been sought out for his opinion by such high-profile media outlets as USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Boston Herald, Detroit Free Press, Reuters, Agence France Press and others. Doug has appeared on CBS News, CNBC and the Los Angeles affiliates for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News to talk about car technology and is a frequent speaker at automotive and consumer-electronics industry events. In 2013 Doug cofounded the Connected Car Conference (C3) at CE Week in New York and co-producer the inaugural Connected Car Expo at the LA Auto Show. In 2014, Doug coproduced successful events under the C3 banner at SXSW, CE Week and in Silicon Valley. In the same year he formed the Connected Car Council, made up of top industry thought leaders, and launched the C3 Report to provide news and analysis to the fast changing car technology and mobility space. He’s also a columnist for PCMag.com’s NextCar, Forbes.com and writes for Wired, Automobile, Popular Mechanics and other outlets. Prior to launching C3, Doug served as Senior Editor, Technology at Edmunds.com, where he created a new Technology section for the website to educate consumers. He also spearheaded the Car Technology 101 series to explain features such as Bluetooth, navigation and telematics in easy-to-understand terms. Before joining Edmunds.com, started Newcomb Communications & Consulting to provide content to such outlets as Road & Track, MSN Autos, MSN Tech & Gadgets, Corvette Quarterly, SEMA News and many others. He also worked with AMCI Testing to benchmark in-car technologies and served as a consultant to innovative companies in the industry. In 2008, he published his first book, Car Audio for Dummies (Wiley). Doug began his career in 1988 as the editor of the industry trade magazine Mobile Electronics, and went on to serve as editor of the consumer publications Car Audio and Electronics, Car Stereo Review, Mobile Entertainment and Road & Track Road Gear.

Julia Rege joined the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) in 2020 as the vice president for energy and environment. She made the transition to Auto Innovators from the Association of Global Automakers, where she spent nine years in the Environment and Energy Department. Rege engages in regulatory policy and advocacy at the federal and state levels on such vehicle issues as electrification and consumer awareness programs, fuel economy, greenhouse gas and criteria emissions, fuels and infrastructure, and substances of concern. Prior to 2011, Rege served as senior regulatory engineer at the Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. She also worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality as an environmental engineer. Rege has a master’s in environmental engineering from the University of Michigan and a BA in environmental science from Northwestern University.

Brett Smith joined the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in 2000 after 12 years at the University of Michigan’s Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT).

During his career, Smith’s research has covered many critical aspects of the automotive industry. He actively researched vehicle and component manufacturing, materials forecasting, product development and analysis, supplier–manufacturer relations, technology development, facility location analysis, product launch strategy, and human resource and talent issues. Smith’s recent research and leadership activities have focused on the challenges and opportunities of implementing innovative technologies and services in the automotive industry.

From 2012 to 2018, Smith also served as co-director of strategy, CAR Management Briefing Seminars. In that role, he guided strategic planning for the CAR Management Briefing Seminars and other CAR conference activities. Smith was the chair of The Business of Plugging In: A Plug-In Electric Vehicle Conference in Detroit, Michigan (2009–11). Smith was also active as a labor educator for 15 years. He received a BS in economics and an MBA from Eastern Michigan University.

Haig Stoddard has followed the auto industry for more than three decades, starting as a reporter for WardsAuto and transitioning to automotive market analyst. He has spent most of his career at Wards, with stints along the way at another independent organization forecasting North American vehicle production and as a vehicle sales analyst at both a major supplier and automaker. Since returning to Wards nine years ago, Stoddard has served as the company’s chief market analyst contributing to several of the information provider’s data products and tools, with a focus on market analysis through tying together demand, vehicle production, and powertrain trends.

Paul Traub currently holds the position of senior business economist at the Detroit Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago where his responsibilities include both research and current analysis. He is a contributing author to the Michigan Economy and Midwest Economy blogs, a member of the team that created the Detroit Economic Activity Index and a frequent speaker on the Michigan economy. Prior to joining the economic research department of the Chicago Fed, Traub was the president of Scenario Economics LLC and senior economist for Americas Commercial Transportation Research Company, LLC (ACT Research). Traub retired in 2008 from the position of corporate economist with 25 years of service at Chrysler LLC. He worked in Chrysler’s corporate economist’s office for over 17 of those years where his responsibilities included tracking the economy and forecasting its impact on North American auto sales; supporting new product development; and speaking to auto dealers and numerous professional organizations. His speaking engagements have included the Michigan and Ohio Governors’ Councils of Economic Advisors, the Society of Automotive Analysts Automotive Outlook Conference, the Forum on Global Energy, Economy and Security (The Aspen Institute) and the Bear Stearns Global Transport & Logistics Conference. Traub currently is on the board of directors of the Detroit Association of Business Economists; is a member of the National Association of Business Economists and the Detroit Economic Club; is on advisory boards for Lawrence Technological University College of Management, Baker College of Flint Business School and the U.S. Army TACOM LCMC; and has served as an adjunct faculty member at Oakland University in the School of Business. He holds a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan - Dearborn and an M.B.A. from Oakland University.

Ann Wilson joined the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) on June 1, 2004, as vice president of government affairs, based in the association’s Washington, DC, office. Wilson works with the association’s Washington office staff in overseeing federal and state legislative and regulatory monitoring, reporting, and advocacy. She helps develop and promote association members’ views on legislation and regulations affecting the motor vehicle supplier industry. She also coordinates the Government Affairs Committee, which consists of government affairs professionals and other executives from MEMA’s three market segment associations—the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association, and Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association. The committee guides staff in establishing specific legislative, regulatory, and public affairs communications goals on behalf of all MEMA members, as well as in developing plans to achieve them.

Wilson came to MEMA from the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), Washington, DC, where she served as the senior vice president of government affairs. Prior to joining RMA in 1998, Wilson was the vice president of government affairs for the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA), based in Alexandria, Virginia. She served as state legislative counsel for the American Trucking Associations from 1989 to 1991, when she joined the AMSA. Wilson earned her law degree and the National Order of the Barrister from the Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a bachelor’s degree in child advocacy.