Chris Reed is vice president, Components Engineering and Overseas Chief Vehicle Engineer (OCVE) D-Platform Crossovers, Nissan Technical Center North America (NTCNA), a position to which he was appointed in April 2015. In this role, Reed reports to Takeshi Yamaguchi, senior vice president, Research and Development, NTCNA, and is responsible for Powertrain, Electrical, and Audio/IT engineering groups and is OCVE for Nissan Murano and Pathfinder as well as the INFINITI QX60.

Reed joined Nissan North America in 1988 as an entry-level engineer in the body design group. From 2011 to 2013, he worked in safety and then exterior/accessories while being OCVE of trucks. He also spent over two years in Japan to develop the Nissan Murano from scratch. From 1999 to 2007, Reed was self-employed as a home builder and ran a small automotive parts supplier.

Reed holds a mechanical engineering degree from Virginia Tech. He is located at NTCNA in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Mark L. Reuss leads the design, engineering, safety, quality, research and development, advanced vehicle technology and program management of General Motors cars, trucks and crossovers around the world. He also oversees GM’s Global Purchasing and Supply Chain organization, and is a member of the GM Executive Leadership Team, the Opel Supervisory Board and the board of Shanghai General Motors (SGM).

From 2009-2013, Reuss was President of General Motors North America, responsible for GM’s performance, manufacturing, portfolio and dealer network. Under his watch, GM’s North America region produced consistent profits and improved margins during a product renaissance featuring a slate of award-winning vehicles.

Previously, Reuss served briefly as GM’s vice president of global engineering after spending two years overseas as vice president and managing director of Australia and New Zealand. During this time, he was a member of the GM Asia Pacific Strategy Board.

Reuss is a mechanical engineer who began his GM career as a student intern in 1983. He has held numerous engineering and management positions, including chief engineer of GM’s large luxury vehicles and manufacturing body shop tooling launches.

He also created and led the GM Performance Division in 2001 while serving as executive director of Architecture Engineering. In this role, he also was responsible for GM’s racing vehicles including the V-Series Cadillacs and SS Chevrolets. In 2005, he was appointed executive director of GM’s North America Vehicle Systems and Architecture, and one year later was named executive director of Global Vehicle Integration, Safety and Virtual Development.

A lifelong auto enthusiast, Reuss is a certified industry pool test driver on the North Course of the Nürburgring Motorsport Racetrack in Germany, and is licensed for FIA C and IMSA Road Racing. His first car was a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, which he bought and restored himself.

Reuss was born and raised in metro Detroit and is deeply committed to revitalizing the city via education, community and philanthropy. In 2010, he spearheaded a $27.1 million grant to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to improve graduation rates at seven Detroit-area high schools. In 2013, he championed the GM Student Corps, a summer internship and career development program for under-served youth. He also was instrumental in bringing the Chevrolet Belle Isle Detroit Grand Prix back to the city, which generates millions in economic impact for the region.

He holds a bachelor of engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and a master of business administration from Duke University.

Reuss is a member of the Skillman Foundation Board of Trustees, the Cranbrook Schools Board of Trustees and the Horizons Upward Bound Board. He is GM’s Key Executive at Duke University. He also serves on The Henry Ford Board of Trustees, the Detroit Workforce Development Board and is Vice Chairman of the GM Foundation.

Mr. Simoncini has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company since September 2011. In this role, Mr. Simoncini is responsible for the strategic direction and operational leadership of the Company. Formerly, Mr. Simoncini was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, a role he had held since September 2007. As Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, he was responsible for the Company’s global Finance operations, including external Financial Reporting, Corporate Business Planning & Analysis, Corporate Strategy and Business Development as well as Information Technology activities worldwide. In August 2006, Mr. Simoncini was named Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Accounting Officer where he was responsible for the Company’s worldwide operational finance, accounting and financial reporting. Prior to that, he was vice president of Global Finance, a position he had held since June 2004. Mr. Simoncini also served as the Company’s Vice President of Finance — Europe as well as held the Vice President of Finance position for the Company’s Electrical & Electronics business and DaimlerChrysler division. Mr. Simoncini joined United Technologies Automotive (“UTA”) in April 1996 as director of Finance for the Motors Division with responsibility for the financial activities of the business unit. At the time of the Company’s acquisition of UTA in May 1999, Mr. Simoncini was director of Global Financial Planning & Analysis. Previous to UTA, Mr. Simoncini held financial and manufacturing positions with Varity Kelsey Hayes and Horizon Enterprises including Chief Financial Officer of Kelsey Hayes’ European Operations. Mr. Simoncini began his career at Touche Ross and is a certified public accountant. In addition to his responsibilities at the Company, Mr. Simoncini is a member of the board of directors for the Wayne State University Foundation, Detroit Economic Club, Business Leaders of Michigan, the Michigan Opera Theatre and The Parade Company. Mr. Simoncini earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Wayne State University.

Mike Duggan was elected as Mayor of Detroit on November 5, 2013 and took office on January 1, 2014.   As Mayor, he governs the city of his birth and where he spent the previous 32 years of his career collaborating with others to solve some of the city’s most vexing issues.

While Mayor Duggan was elected largely on his track record of leading successful large-scale financial and operational turnarounds, Detroiters responded strongly to his deep love for the city, which can be seen in his work over the years.  During his career he has taken on challenges and untangled problems that directly impact the quality of life of Detroiters, including access to health care, public transportation, crime, blight, expanding recreational opportunities in the city, job creation and more.

His immediate priority as Mayor has been to implement a coordinated strategy to address the numerous challenges residents have faced over the years, most notably, blight, public lighting, transportation and public safety.

During his first year in office, the city has made significant progress in each of these areas, although he is the first to admit that much work remains.  Thanks to new partnerships with Detroit City Council, as well as in Lansing and Washington, D.C., the city now is removing blight at a record pace, has installed more than 35,000 new LED streetlights, secured the purchase of 80 new DDOT buses through federal funds and significantly reduced both police and EMS response times.

David Graff was named the vice president of sales, Retail Network Solutions (RNS) at MSXI in October 2013 and is responsible for the company’s sales strategy and execution for global automotive accounts.

With more than 20 years developing and executing sales strategies, Graff has a strong background in business development, account management and re-engineering efforts in the automotive industry. He has extensive experience throughout the manufacturing field including automotive, industrial equipment, aerospace and technology.

Before joining MSXI, Graff served as the automotive managing director at Microsoft Corp., where he was responsible for developing and executing the company’s sales strategy, solutions portfolio and partner integration, as well as marketing and communications for the discrete manufacturing industry. At Microsoft, he also served as the global account manager for Ford Motor Company, with responsibilities which included sales, partner integration and customer satisfaction. Prior to this, Graff honed his skills at Air Guide Manufacturing, Goodman Manufacturing, Integrated Information Systems and Pensare Incorporated. From 1989 to 2000, he rose to the rank of senior manager at Ernst and Young LLP, where he managed the selling and delivery efforts of consulting engagements to global Fortune 500 companies.

Graff earned his Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.

Rachel Bhattacharya manages a side of the Maven business that sets the company apart from other automotive shared service offerings. Rachel oversees the company’s business-to-business operations including the Lyft Express Drive program, the recent Uber partnership and future business use-cases of the Maven platform.

In addition to managing existing program operations, Rachel and her team are focused on refining a new, inclusive platform that will allow different businesses to use Maven vehicles for a variety of transportation needs. Her work includes optimizing services for the deployment of the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the only electric vehicle with enough range for ridesharing needs.

As GM and other automakers prepare for an autonomous future, Rachel’s team also focuses on using Maven’s commercial offerings as a method to pave the way for autonomous fleet operations.

Rachel describes herself as “not a car person, but a mobility person.” Embodying an entrepreneurial spirit, she focuses on sustainability and cultural improvements on a large scale. She has a passion for revitalizing cities and urban centers, and bringing transportation solutions to areas where options are limited. She sees Maven a critical enabler to round out GM’s product and service portfolio.

Prior to Maven, Rachel worked in Strategy on GM’s Corporate Development and Global M&A team.   Rachel joined GM from a position at Starbucks in Global Corporate Strategy, coming from a prior consulting role with Bain & Company. She received her BA in Architectural Studies and minored in Urban Planning at the University of Washington. She received her MBA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—Kenan Flagler Business School.

Outside of work, Rachel is interested in design, specifically small space architectural design and jewelry design.  These interests come second to her family: her husband and two-year-old son.

KC Crain is President and COO of Crain Communications, a global business media enterprise with such titles as Automotive News, Autoweek, Advertising Age and Plastics News.

KC is also group publisher of Crain’s Chicago Business, Crain’s Detroit Business and all brands under Crain’s Automotive Group and Global Polymer Group. Previously, he held roles of executive vice president and director of corporate operations of Crain Communications, as well as associate publisher and advertising director at Autoweek. He started at Crain as a reporter for Automotive News.

Active in a number of civic and business activities, KC serves on the boards of the Detroit Children’s Fund, the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Young Presidents Organization. He sits on the steering committee of the College for Creative Studies.

In addition to keen interests and influential connections throughout the automotive, tech and publishing industries, KC is dedicated to Detroit’s economic development with investments and partnerships in real estate and restaurant ventures.