SOMERVILLE, Mass., July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WaveSense, Inc. today announced that Joe Hinrichs, former Ford Motor Company Automotive President, has joined its Board of Directors effective immediately. The company also appointed Charles “Chuck” Stevens III, former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of General Motors, and Kurt Lehmann, former CTO of Continental to its Advisory Board. These renowned automotive industry veterans join WaveSense at a time where the technology which originated in the military is moving to commercialization.
“WaveSense is delivering the most precise and reliable vehicle positioning system at a cost that allows broad adoption. Knowing where you are is fundamental to enabling the next generation safety and performance features the automotive industry is looking for,” said Hinrichs. “WaveSense’s Ground Penetrating Radar provides always available, precise positioning that cameras, traditional radar and Lidar simply have not achieved. I am excited to contribute to WaveSense’s rapid and broad adoption so that new and improved safety and performance features become available to drivers around the world.”
WaveSense works by mapping and tracking to the road's subsurface. A radar signal is sent 10 feet into the ground and the reflection creates a unique “fingerprint“ of every inch of roadway. Together, these fingerprints form a map that allows precise positioning in any condition, including snow, heavy rain, fog, or on roads with poor lane markings – all of which cause other positioning technologies to degrade or fail. WaveSense is working closely with leading automakers on next generation autonomous features for passenger vehicles. The company has completed pilots with Top 10 OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers who are looking to deploy WaveSense technology in assisted and autonomous driving products at scale.
“Joe, Chuck and Kurt are world class leaders in the automotive industry, and they will be invaluable assets as WaveSense navigates customer partnering and scale up. Their guidance will help us move faster and smarter and we’re thrilled to have them as part of the team,” said Tarik Bolat, CEO and co-founder of WaveSense.
About Joe Hinrichs
Joe Hinrichs, 53, is an automotive industry veteran who spent 19 years at Ford Motor Company, most recently as Automotive President. In this role he oversaw all of Ford and Lincoln global automotive business, including the global business units of North America, South America, China, Europe, and the International Markets Group. He also led the global automotive skill teams of Product Development, Purchasing, Manufacturing and Labor Affairs, Marketing and Sales, Information Technology, Government Affairs, Enterprise Product Line Management, Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD), Customer Experience, Quality and New Model Launch, and Sustainability, Environmental and Safety Engineering.
Hinrichs’s oversight of manufacturing played a key role in building strong UAW relationships that contributed to effective contract negotiations. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering Magna Cum Laude from the University of Dayton in 1989. Hinrichs also earned a master's degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School in 1994 as a GM Fellow while working for General Motors. He was GM's youngest plant manager at the age of 29 when he was leading the GM Powertrain Plant in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1996. The turnaround of that plant is the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.
About Charles "Chuck" K. Stevens III
Chuck Stevens retired as Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor for General Motors in March 2019, after a 40-year career at the company. From 1994 to 2005 he held several leadership positions in General Motors' Asia Pacific Region. He returned to North America in 2006 and assumed the role of CFO for General Motors Canada and later GM Mexico in 2008 and CFO of GM North America in 2010. In 2014, Stevens was named Executive Vice President and CFO of General Motors Corporation, where he was responsible for leading the company's financial and accounting operations worldwide. He served in this position with GM until September 2018. Stevens also serves as a director on the boards of Masco Corporation, Flex Ltd, and Tenneco. He received his Bachelor of Industrial Administration from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and an MBA from the University of Michigan, Flint.
About Kurt Lehmann
A graduate of Michigan Technological University with 34 years in the automotive industry, Kurt spent the last 15 years in Europe with his most recent position as Corporate Technology Officer (CTO) reporting to the CEO of Continental Corporation. In this role his organization shaped the direction and vision of Continental’s future technology and innovation portfolio in order to maintain Continental´s role as a global technology leader. His tasks included further developing research and development processes, methods, and instruments in relation to embedded software and coordinating the ongoing optimization of Continental’s global research and development network. Key innovation targets were pursued by technology trend scouting centered on the future-related fields of artificial intelligence, automation, electrification, connectivity, wireless technologies, cybersecurity, and new mobility services for future products.
About WaveSense:
WaveSense is the first company in the world to offer centimeter-level vehicle navigation in all conditions based on ground penetrating radar. Its mission is to enable autonomous navigation safely, precisely and reliably in any condition. It is the worldwide exclusive licensee of IP generated at MIT Lincoln Laboratory while the technology was being developed for the military applications. WaveSense was founded in 2017 and is funded by Rhapsody Venture Partners, a Cambridge, MA-based venture fund focused on investing in and bringing to market breakthrough innovations in hard science and technology. WaveSense was named the Top Autonomous Driving Project at the 2019 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, and received the “Best in Show” award from PlanetM, the mobility initiative of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. For more information please visit https://wavesense.io/.
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