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Automotive CEO’s

Denis Kulikov

GLAZA: Digitalizing automotive sector

Denis Kulikov is a leader with experience in Project Management – Computer vision, software development and applied Artificial Intelligence (AI). He is the CEO of Glaza, a firm that develops eye-tracking human-machine interfaces for automotive and consumer displays. In an interview, he speaks on an array of topics. Excerpts:

Conception of GLAZA

Noting that two trends have been doing rounds off late, Denis notes that vehicles are becoming autonomous and entertainment displays are getting bigger and more powerful. “In the near future we will see drivers becoming passengers and given that they won’t need to drive cars themselves, they will be able to spend more time interacting with their displays.”  He adds that Glaza’s vision is to ensure that in-vehicle displays of the future will be as important in everybody’s lives as smartphones and laptops. Drivers and passengers will be able to play video games, watch movies, browse the internet, download apps, and scroll through their photos and documents.

Edouard Vaujour, CEO

KNAVE: Offering complete electric vehicle subletting solution

Edouard Vaujour is a passionate entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Knave, a French company that enables the implementation of all-term rental services (short, medium, long) on mobility assets in distribution networks, companies and municipalities. The system couples stock financing, carried by Knave, with tools for using this stock – mobile rental applications, usage insurance, customer hotline, etc. – developed and operated by Knave.

Conception of KNAVE

Edouard says that many external factors are pushing the automotive market into a rapid transition to electric vehicles, which threatens its current dealerships’ model: margins are essentially made up of workshop revenues. Electric vehicles require very little maintenance, so the networks anticipate a reduction in this revenue share of 30% to 60%.

“The physical traffic of the networks is decreasing sharply due to the increase in new car prices, increasing the break-even point linked to the operation of empty showrooms.

Charles

OptiCat and JNPSoft: Creating the industry strategic advantage

Charles Johnson is a passionate automotive Leader. He is the CEO of OptiCat and JNPSoft. Charles and his teams continue to develop software programs, data and data services which assist suppliers and receivers in the creation, secure validation, delivery and receiving of high-quality catalog data destined for ‘selling positions’ in the market. OptiCat and JNPSoft are Auto Care Association standards compliant, focusing on ACES™ and PIES™ across the USA and Canada. He speaks on an array of topics in an interview.  Excerpts:

Conception of the OptiCat business

The idea for OptiCat was germinated by the needs of suppliers to achieve several important objectives, or mandates, related to their catalog data. Charles shares that several drivers led to the conception of the business including providing data delivery systems that improve the speed of secure supplier data delivery to customers from up to nine months to “near real time”. Improved quality of data and simplified communication with data receivers on data issues was yet another reason.

Michael Goepfarth

SCIO Automation: Creating a global automation platform

Michael is a passionate entrepreneur and the CEO of SCIO Automation, an international automation platform that believes in its mission to support companies on their journey towards Industry 4.0. As a system integrator and innovator, SCIO automates production and logistics processes. A visionary, a creative genius, Michael speaks on an array of topics. Excerpts:

Conception of SCIO

The increasing demand of our customers in all industry sectors for comprehensive Smart Factory solutions, from end-to-end, was one of the main reasons to found SCIO, observes Michael. “Our customers have realized that it is not possible in the long term to implement only individual solutions. To remain competitive in the future, they need to integrate all their machines, products and processes into a single, higher-level digital system. They have needed a partner who can provide them with comprehensive end-to-end automation support for production and logistics processes.”

Niki

Ship Your Car Now

A passionate entrepreneur, Gavin Kesten has been in the forefront of the automobile industry. He is the CEO and founder of ShipYourCarNow, a light asset provider offering a full suite of vehicle shipping services and logistics to all types of businesses, moving all types of equipment. In an interview, he speaks on an array of topics.

Excerpts:

Conception of Ship Your Car Now

The conception of Ship Your Car Now was developed from the need for transparency in the retail auto shipping industry. “Previously, I had used an auto shipping service and had an unpleasant experience. There was no transparency throughout the process. The broker I spoke to charged a fee to my credit card, which was supposed to be the total amount for the shipping. However, when the driver showed up, he demanded cash.” Notes Gavin that this unpleasant experience, coupled with his love for cars, inspired him to create ShipYourCarNow, with a business model that emphasizes full transparency to the clients.

Kendell Pictures

SUBSKRYB: Vehicle Ownership Reshaped for the Future

The automotive industry is currently going through a paradigm shift. As advancing technological innovations and digitization continue to emerge, the customer experience is being elevated. In a world where more people are choosing superior experiences over the obligations of vehicle ownership, a progressive change led by digital intervention is the need of the hour. To this end, the Vehicle-as-a-subscription model (or VaaS) addresses this need by allowing customers to use vehicles on a subscription basis or as short or long-term rentals. Naturally the subscription model has become the face of the car rental industry in recent times but not without major gaps; specifically, cross-branding high-end manufacture supply, user enablement and advanced technology integration. Enter Subskryb, a vehicle share technology that reshapes automobile ownership with a subscription-based approach that leverages existing assets while providing leads to similar products on the market. According to CEO and Co-founder Kendell Johnson, Subskryb is, “the Google for Vehicle-as-a-Service. We facilitate asset-sharing and user enablement for everyone including “Subskrybers”, vehicle investors, vehicle clubs and manufacturers”.