12:00pm EST
Who Will Build, Sell and Maintain Driverless Cars?
Moderator: Michael Sena, President, Michael L. Sena Consulting AB
Bio
Michael L. Sena is an internationally recognized expert and consultant in connected vehicle services to the transport industry. Since 2013 he has written a monthly newsletter called The Dispatcher, in which he provides in-depth analyses of the trends affecting the transport industry, particularly driverless and electric vehicles. His newsletter, articles and reports can be found on his web site www.michaellsena.com.
Panelist: Tom Crosby, Free-lance Automotive Journalist
Bio
Tom retired from AAA Carolinas in 2012 and has been reviewing a new car every week for the past 25 years for AAA Carolinas and has provided reviews and automobile-relates stories for AAA Carolinas, AAA Arizona, AAA Missouri, AAA Colorado and numerous newspapers in North and South Carolinas, and to his hometown newspapers, the Winchester Star and Northern Virginia. He has experienced first hand the evolution of the technical features needed to arm self-driving vehicles. He has seen first hand the progress being made in the retail market, as well as the hurdles.
Panelist: Glenn Mercer, Independent Automotive Researcher
Bio
Glenn Mercer is an independent automotive researcher. He has 35 years of relevant experience, beginning in 1985 at McKinsey, where he was a Partner in the Automotive Practice, participating in hundreds of client studies over that time. Since 2006 he has been a sole practitioner. In addition to project work for investment firms (e.g. KKR, Kleiner Perkins, Baillie Gifford), he has been an advisor to industry entities (e.g. Ricardo, NADA, NAAA), a Board member for automotive firms (e.g. Rimstock, Stackpole, Grakon), an expert witness in automotive cases, and a lecturer on automotive economics in academia (e.g. Wharton, Coventry University, CWRU). Prior to beginning his automotive career at McKinsey, he worked at first the CIA and then BP. He has been President of the Society of Automotive Analysts and a Director of the International Motor Vehicle Program. He lives in Ohio with his wife Ida, a cellist, and has as his current ride a 1996 NSX.
Panelist: Sheldon Sandler, CEO, Bel Air Partners
Bio
Sheldon Sandler is the founding partner of Bel Air Partners LLC. Bel Air is a boutique financial advisory firm assisting auto dealerships with their financial concerns. Earlier as a Managing Director of a NYSE investment banking firm Sandler originated the first IPO for a franchised vehicle dealer, Rush Enterprises. Rush is the country’s largest class 8 truck retailer. After beginning his career with a national accounting firm, Sandler joined the Securities and Exchange Philadelphia branch rising to Chief Examiner. Sandler is a non-practicing CPA with a BS from Penn State and an MBA from the Fox School of Business at Temple University.
