Elizabeth Krear is President and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR),
bringing more than three decades of experience in engineering, product development, and strategic leadership across the global automotive industry. She is widely recognized for guiding organizations through periods of transformational change, particularly in the evolution toward electrified, connected, and autonomous vehicles.

Prior to joining CAR, Ms. Krear served as Vice President of the Electric Vehicle Practice at JD Power, where she led efforts to leverage data and insights that supported clients in optimizing business performance during the shift to electrified product portfolios. Before J.D. Power, she was a Global Planning Program Vice President at Stellantis for the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and electrified body-on-frame SUVs and trucks, focusing on platform strategies that integrated electrification, autonomy, and connectivity. Earlier in
her career, she served as Chief Engineer for the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator SUV
vehicles, as well as the Ram 1500 Light Duty Truck portfolio.
In recognition of her leadership and industry impact, Automotive News named her one of the Top 100 Women in the North American Auto Industry in 2020.
Ms. Krear holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from
Wayne State University and an MBA from the Michigan State University Executive MBA Program. As a proud alumna, she is passionate about mentoring future engineers and supporting the next generation of automotive leaders.

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Dr. Frankie James is an automotive industry and innovation consultant providing expertise and insights into the state of the mobility industry and helping clients partner to achieve their goals. Her consultancy, FJ Mobility Innovation, is particularly focused on helping large corporations and startups work together by bridging the gap between their unique needs and approaches and improving user experiences inside and outside of the vehicle.

Frankie’s career has spanned roles in corporate innovation and R&D, including 17 years at General Motors’ Silicon Valley innovation office. In that role, she led a team that worked to identify startups with promising new technologies and trends and establish relationships back to the GM business units to develop prototypes and potentially work towards commercialization. Among other successes, Frankie’s team was responsible for identifying Cruise Automation as a potential acquisition target for GM and initiating the work that led to GM commercializing the first in-vehicle wireless device charging solution.

Frankie received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University for research on audio interfaces for blind users. She has strong expertise in accessibility and usability, particularly multimodal and divided attention situations such as found in automotive HMI and infotainment.

Lauren Harper is the Chief of Staff at Kodiak Robotics, a leader in autonomous trucking technology. She holds a BBA in Finance with a specialization in Alternative Assets from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Raised in a trucking family, Lauren developed an early appreciation for the challenges of the transportation industry. She began her career in finance and entertainment, spending six years building a strong foundation before pivoting to autonomous trucking.

Lauren joined TuSimple, the first publicly traded autonomous trucking company, as a member of the Corporate Strategy team focused on launching the company’s Autonomous Freight Network. She also played a key role in Investor Relations, supporting the IPO process and transition to a publicly traded company.
In 2022, she joined Kodiak Robotics as a Senior Strategist in Business Operations, working closely with the executive team to accelerate the commercialization of autonomous trucking and contributing to Kodiak’s collaboration with the U.S. Army on unmanned ground vehicles. Today, as Chief of Staff, she partners directly with CEO and Founder Don Burnette to advance the company’s most critical strategic initiatives.

Lauren lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, young son, and dachshund.