With more than 25 years in engineering, consulting, and management, Aditya Pathak is the Vice President and Head of Automotive, Transportation, & Logistics for Cognizant, a multinational information technology and consulting company.

Founded in Chennai, India, and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant helps clients modernize their technology, reimagine processes, and transform experiences to help them stay ahead of the competition. As a leader, Pathak has turned the automotive, transportation, and logistics industry segments into growth drivers for the company.

Before joining Cognizant, Pathak was a General Manager of Healthcare for Wipro Limited, where he also began his career as a systems engineer. He also previously served Cognizant as a director and client partner for providers and alliances. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in electronics and telecommunications from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), an MBA from the Indian Institutes of Management, and executive education certificates from Harvard University and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Brian Irwin is the Managing Director of the Automotive and Industrials Group at Alvarez & Marsal, a global professional services firm notable for its work in turnaround management and performance improvement. He brings over 25 years of experience serving automotive and industrial clients across North America, Europe, and Asia. He helps companies drive improved financial performance and transform their organizations to capitalize on the rapidly evolving automotive landscape of changing customer expectations, migration to EVs, and the need to digitize end-to-end operations.

In his role he has helped many of the leading automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and Tier 1 suppliers, dealers and aftermarket firms with strategy and growth and he assisted them in driving improvement in product development, quality, complexity reduction and large-scale cost transformation.

Prior to joining Alvarez & Marsal, Irwin was a managing director of the North America Automotive and Mobility practice at Accenture. He also served as a management consultant with A.T. Kearney. Irwin earned a bachelor’s degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University, both in Ontario.

Dr. Christine Sachseneder is a Partner and Managing Director in Kearney’s automotive practice, based in Munich. Amid the biggest transformation the automotive industry has ever seen, she supports automotive manufacturers and tier 1 suppliers to remain competitive by transforming how vehicles are developed and adapting their businesses to a rapidly shifting external environment.

Her work is right at the heart of the transformation: with the shift to electrification, digitalization and autonomous driving, vehicles are fundamentally changing. Christine’s projects center around product creation, covering all aspects of engineering, technical compliance and quality. She also specializes in product-driven transformation, with a particular focus on the software-defined vehicle.

In today’s complex and rapidly changing  environment, Christine and her teams are increasingly providing guidance to clients based on AI-powered simulation and optimization, such as enhancing internal combustion engine and electric vehicle portfolios and improving volume planning. And with manufacturers and suppliers chasing efficiencies to finance the future, she also heads up large performance programs and helps clients to capitalize on the digital opportunity, for example using generative AI to re-engineer their research and development capabilities.

In addition to her account leadership responsibilities, Christine has a passion for people development. She maintains this commitment as a member of Kearney’s internal promotions and elections committee and European Diversity, Equity and Inclusion council. She has a Diploma and PhD in International Cultural and Business studies from the University of Passau.

Harris Ng is a Partner at Kearney, a global management firm, where he provides strategic advice to automotive and industrial OEMs and suppliers. In his nearly 20 years at Kearney, he has served clients in areas of business strategy, performance improvement, and operations. He is also a published thought leader in the automotive sector on electrification, mobility, and advanced manufacturing. He specializes in corporate strategy, strategic planning, product development, innovation, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, finance, and commercial due diligence.

Prior to joining Kearney, Ng led electronics product development as an Engineering Manager at Methode Electronics, a leading global supplier of custom-engineered solutions. He earned an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business with an MBA and a BSEE and BSME in mechanical engineering at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan.

Jaydip Mukhopadhyay is the Vice President of the Automotive and Manufacturing business in North America for Wipro, a technology and IT consulting services firm. He is responsible for driving business growth, building strategic partnerships with leading automakers, and delivering innovative solutions to accelerate the transformation journey of the automotive industry.

Leading one of the fastest growing businesses within Wipro, Mukhopadhyay has executed some of the most strategic initiatives around digital transformation, cloud computing, autonomous mobility, and customer experience. Previously, he led consulting for North America, where he built solutions across product development, manufacturing, sales, and the marketing and aftersales businesses.

Mukhopadhyay began his career at Tata Motors working across a variety of roles in the manufacturing and supply chain sectors. He earned an MBA from the Xavier School of Management in India, a MA in physics from Calcutta University, and he graduated from Harvard Business School’s Leading Global Businesses program. In 2023, the Consulting Report named Mukhopadhyay a top 25 automotive consultant and leader.

Jason Alexander has more than 20 years of experience serving multinational clients in the manufacturing, automotive, and chemicals sectors, with a particular emphasis on SEC clients, Fortune 500, and middle market companies. In leading the North American Manufacturing Practice of RSM US, a leading provider of assurance, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market, Alexander is responsible for one of the firm’s largest industry sectors and responsible for setting and executing the firm’s national manufacturing strategy. He is also an analyst in RSM’s Industry Eminence Program, which forecasts and communicates economic, business and technology trends shaping the industries and sectors RSM serves.

Alexander has previously advised clients in the areas of accounting, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, process design and improvement, internal audit, regulatory compliance, internal and external financial reporting, and information technology system implementation. He has a strong record of accomplishment of people, team, and practice development across North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Alexander also serves on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) where he helps amplify the need for the industry to create well-paying jobs and grow the economy.

With a career spanning over almost three decades, Juergen Reers focuses on driving digital transformation, innovation, and strategic growth for clients around the globe. He is a Senior Managing Director and Global Automotive and Mobility Lead at Accenture, where he is responsible for all Accenture services and client account teams in the industry sector. He founded Accenture’s Mobility X Practice, which helps companies prepare for and shape the future of mobility. He also serves on Accenture’s Global Leadership Council.

Reers previously worked for numerous OEMs, suppliers, mobility service providers and distribution/retail clients with a focus on strategy/M&A, sales, marketing, engineering, and performance improvement. He helped automotive clients develop large transformation programs involving software-enabled and sustainable mobility. He also frequently advises, writes, and speaks about the implication of technology on the automotive and mobility sector and how businesses can leverage new technologies to transform traditional business models. He holds a MBA from the University of Münster in Germany.

Lawrence Keyler is a senior SEC tax partner focused on large global public companies at RSM US, a leading provider of assurance, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market. He primarily works in industrials and manufacturing, specifically within the automotive sector. As RSM’s global automotive leader, Larry works with RSM’s global office and the firm’s worldwide automotive teams in Asia Pacific, Europe, and South America.

Keyler consults on current issues related to supply chain challenges, strategic planning and legal entity alignment and rationalization, as well as mergers and acquisition planning.

Keyler focuses on new developments in emerging markets, the accelerated rise of new technologies related to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics automation, sustainability and green energy initiatives evolving in the automotive industry and their impact on consumer ownership preferences. He is a frequent commentator for RSM’s quarterly automotive webinar series and is a frequent writer for RSM’s Automotive Insights on topics such as trends in the automotive industry trends, supply chain resiliency, cybersecurity, mobility, ESG, and electric vehicle trends. He has a BS in accounting from the University of Indianapolis.

Laura Marcero has over 20 years of experience leading complex restructuring, transformational efforts, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions at Huron, a management consulting firm offering services to the healthcare, life sciences, commercial, and higher education industries. She provides expert counsel to clients in a variety of industries, including automotive, industrial manufacturing, metals, municipalities, transportation, retail franchising, pharmaceuticals, higher education, consumer products and publishing.

Marcero guides clients through organizational restructuring, helps executive teams develop short- and long-term creative solutions, customer strategies, and sustainable resourcing plans to both improve financial performance and facilitate growth.

Marcero’s perspective on the automotive supplier community served as a basis by which requests were made to Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner and the US government for funding to the automotive supplier community in 2009. She holds a BA in business administration from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Michele Bertoncello co-leads the connected-car initiative at the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility, taking direct responsibility for the center’s car data monetization project. He also supports clients through McKinsey’s Automotive and Assembly Practice, with an emphasis on advanced digital projects, including the connected car, car data monetization, and future mobility concepts.

Bertoncello is a member of Italy’s Motor Valley Think Tank, a senior leadership organization that promotes technological development in the region of Emilia-Romagna.

Bertoncello joined McKinsey in 2007. He advises clients in the automotive and assembly sector on strategy, marketing and sales, and innovation issues. He earned an M&A in Managerial Accounting from Harvard University and completed course studies at New York University and Universita Bocconi.

An accomplished operations advisor at EY, a global professional services firm, Sven Dharmani helps clients adopt leading-edge digital and industry 4.0 capabilities, which is transformative for their business operations. He brings a global perspective from his business experience in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Dharmani has more than 20 years of international experience in both automotive and manufacturing.

Dharmani started his career as a sales associate at Honda Motor Co and held roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers at a senior supply chain management consultant and Capgemini Consulting as a senior manager.

Sven holds an MBA in operations and strategy from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and a BE in industrial engineering from Thapar University in India.

Samid Hussain coheads the consumer fraud and product liability practice at Cornerstone Research, a litigation consulting firm that provides economic and financial analysis and expert testimony to attorneys, corporations, and government agencies involved in complex litigation and regulatory proceedings. He also serves on the firm’s executive and conflict resolution committees.

Hussain specializes in analyzing economic, marketing, and statistical issues in competition, consumer fraud, product liability, antitrust, healthcare, breach of contract, and intellectual property matters. He frequently consults on economic and marketing issues related to liability, class certification, and damages and has worked on several prominent cases involving allegations of false claims, consumer fraud, product liability, product misrepresentation, product defects, and false and deceptive advertising.

Hussain has experience in the automotive, IT, oil and gas, airline, genetically modified organism (GMO), and telecommunication industries. A teacher at Stanford University and Cornell University, Hussain holds a PhD in economics and a MA in economics and education administration, both from Cornell University. He earned a BS in electrical engineering from Purdue University.

Dr. Velislava Ivanova is a recognized sustainability expert with over twenty-five years of wide international experience in developing and delivering sustainability strategies and programs for multinational corporations from various sectors including energy, manufacturing, retail, consumer goods and pharmaceuticals. She works successfully with senior executives in large and complex organizations to set sustainability ambition and goals, improve business performance and embed sustainability across their value chains and products.

In her role as the EY Americas Chief Sustainability Officer, Dr. Ivanova drives the advancement of EY’s Sustainability initiatives to increase the long-term value of the firm and its clients. She has recently been appointed the Global Strategy and Markets Leader for the EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) practice. In this new role, she is responsible for the strategic direction and growth for EY CCaSS globally including focus on solutions, sectors, go to market and brand efforts. She oversees the development of consistent delivery methodologies, digital enablement, and innovation of EY sustainability services and the engagement of EY with sustainability partners and Alliances. Dr. Ivanova regularly engages with the analyst community and EY has been recognized consistently as the leading provider of sustainability practice in professional services globally.

Dr. Ivanova is the EY Liaison Delegate at WBCSD. Throughout her career, she has worked with the leading Sustainability organizations including CDP, WEF, SBTi, and UNGC. She regularly speaks at Sustainability forums and has published thought leadership on various topics including Sustainability strategy, Sustainable supply chains, climate and natural capital, and sustainability reporting.

She holds a PhD and MSc from the University of Manchester, UK and MSc from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. She speaks five languages.

She was recognized among the Top 100 Women in Sustainability in 2022 and 2023 by the Sustainability Magazine, among the Top 100 CSO by the Sustainability Magazine in 2023, and among the Top 25 Sustainability Consultants and Leaders in 2022 and 2023 by the Consulting Report. In 2024, she was recognized among the Top 14 Inspiring Women Leading the Fight Against Climate Change by ESG News and among the Top 20 Chief Sustainability Officers by The Climate Insider.

With over 25 years of experience in the automotive and transportation industries, Vinod Kadadi is a seasoned consulting Partner at Wipro Consulting, a technology and IT consulting services firm where he leads the automotive practice. In his role he identifies client needs, develops strategies, business cases and roadmaps in the areas of customer experience, aftersales transformation, electrification, and cloud adoption.

Kadadi previously held leadership positions at General Motors where he developed various initiatives and received a CIO award for delivering transformative engagements with ROI over $500 million. At DMI Consulting he helped deliver transformative solutions in logistics, inventory and connected ecosystems using analytics, digital and IoT services.

He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Kakatiya University in India and an Executive MBA from Emory University Goizueta Business School in Atlanta.