Automatic Labs, Local Motors, Lyft And QNX Join LA Auto Show's Connected Car Expo Advisory Board

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Los Angeles Auto Show (LA Auto Show) announced four additions to its Connected Car Expo (CCE) advisory board for 2016.  Damon Lavrinc of Automatic Labs, Justin Fishkin of Local Motors, Derek Kan of Lyft and Linda Campbell of QNX Software Systems Limited join nine returning board members from thought leading companies including Aeris, Elektrobit, Ellis and Associates, the City of Los Angeles, Google, Nokia Growth Partners, NVIDIA, Pandora and Strategy Analytics.   

Andy Gryc of CX3 Marketing will return as Conference Director, and together with the advisory board, will set the strategic direction and focus of CCE's conference agenda as well as select the second annual Top 10 Automotive Start-ups. CCE is held in conjunction with the LA Auto Show Press and Trade Days and will take place on Tuesday, November 15, 2016.

"We're thrilled to continue building a network of top experts to elevate the connected car conversation," said Lisa Kaz, President of the LA Auto Show and CCE. "Year after year, the board continues to lead new and innovative discussions on technology in automotive and transportation industries; and we're excited to see what 2016 will bring."

About the CCE Advisory Board Members:

• Damon Lavrinc, Head of Content and Outreach at Automatic Labs
  Damon Lavrinc is the Head of Content and Outreach at Automatic Labs, a Bay Area startup that builds connected car products to empower drivers. For the past decade he's covered the auto and tech industries as the Silicon Valley Editor for Jalopnik, Transportation Editor at Wired and editor at Autoblog. Lavrinc has written for a variety of automotive and lifestyle publications focused on transportation technology, connectivity and personal mobility.
• Justin Fishkin, Chief Strategy Officer, Local Motors
  Justin Fishkin is the Chief Strategy Officer of Local Motors, a technology company that designs, builds and sells vehicles. Local Motors' platform combines global co-creation with local micro-manufacturing to bring hardware innovations (like the world's first 3D-printed car) to market at unprecedented speed. He marries a lifelong dedication to sustainability and making a difference in the world with a background in finance and investing. Prior to joining Local Motors, Fishkin served as Senior Portfolio Manager of Carbon War Room, an organization founded by Sir Richard Branson to identify and incubate entrepreneurial solutions to climate change. He began his career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and later became an investor. He earned his BA in Economics from Duke University.
• Derek Kan, General Manager, Lyft
  Derek Kan is the General Manager of Lyft and was recently nominated by President Obama to the Board of Directors of AMTRAK. Prior to this role, he served as Director of Strategy at a biotech startup, Management Consultant at Bain & Company, Advisor at Elliott Management, Policy Advisor to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and the Chief Economist for the Senate Republican Policy Committee. Kan started his career as a Presidential Management Fellow at the White House Office of Management and Budget. He earned his BS from the University of Southern California, M.Sc from the London School of Economics and MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar.
• Linda Campbell, Strategic Accounts, QNX Software Systems, a BlackBerry Subsidiary
  Linda Campbell has held a variety of roles within the sales and marketing organization at QNX Software Systems. Prior to relocating to Silicon Valley, she was responsible for creating and managing QNX Software Systems' strategic alliances practice - building an award-winning technology ecosystem comprising hundreds of hardware, software and services partners globally. Campbell is also the co-founder of the Women in Automotive Technology, a Silicon Valley group dedicated to driving the industry forward by fostering connections between women, ideas and industry.

Returning CCE Advisory Board members include:

• Michelle Avary, Vice President, Automotive Product and Strategy, Aeris
  Michelle Avary is responsible for the overall management of Aeris' automotive strategy, product planning and business development. A 17-year veteran of automotive telematics, Avary previously led Toyota Motor Sales' telematics strategies. Most recently she was the Director of Technology Strategy for Harman International where she led the development of technology strategies for all of Harman's business lines.
• Bryan Biniak, EIR, Nokia Growth Partners
  Bryan Biniak is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at Nokia Growth Partners which recently launched a $100 million Connected Car Fund. Previously, he was the General Manager of developer experiences at Microsoft where he was responsible for driving innovation with the company's global developer community and growth of the broader ecosystem across Microsoft's technologies, products and services portfolio including Windows, Mobile Devices, Xbox, IoT and Azure. Prior to Microsoft, Biniak was Global Vice President and General Manager at Nokia.
• John Ellis, Founder & Managing Director, Ellis and Associates
  John Ellis is a software developer and business development veteran with over 25 years of experience. Formerly the Global Technologist for Ford's connected car business unit as well as an executive with Motorola, he has delivered award-winning products and programs including opensource.motorola.com, developer.motorola.com, SmartDeviceLink, MyFordMobile, and developer.ford.com. Ellis actively consults to clients on the space where automotive, consumer, connectivity and software all intersect as well as serves as the lead instructor for the Connected Vehicle Professional certificate course managed by the Society of Automotive Engineers, Connected Vehicle Trade Association and Mobile Comply.
• Roger C. Lanctot, Associate Director, Global Automotive Practice, Strategy Analytics
  Roger Lanctot brings more than 25 years of experience in electronics industry market research, consulting and journalism to the board. Lanctot advises clients on in-vehicle safety, infotainment and connectivity systems anticipating market, regulatory, and technological developments in hardware, software and business models.
• Peter Marx, Chief Technology Officer, City of Los Angeles
  Peter Marx oversees the implementation of new tools and technologies across L.A. city government to better solve problems for residents and make City Hall work more efficiently and effectively. In addition, he partners with L.A.'s growing tech industry to deploy innovative technology and promote local job creation. Before joining the Mayor's Office, Marx served as the Vice President of Business Development at Qualcomm Labs, Inc. and was the Vice President of the Technology and Digital Studio at Mattel, Inc.
• Chris McKillop, Manager, Android Platform, Google
  Chris McKillop leads an engineering team responsible for living room and entertainment products within Google's Android organization. He was previously Vice President of Software at Jawbone; Sr. Director, webOS Linux at Palm; Team Lead, iOS WiFi & Bluetooth at Apple and a Software Engineer at QNX Software Systems.
• Manuela Papadopol, Director, Global Marketing, Elektrobit
  Manuela Papadopol is responsible for the overall development and execution of global marketing strategy for Elektrobit (EB). She also holds a patent in voice-activated acquisition of non-local content. Prior to joining EB, Papadopol served as a global marketing manager for automotive programs at Microsoft and as global marketing manager at the Tweddle Group. She began her business career in public relations and marketing at BMW in 1996, moving to Mercedes Benz as a public relations manager in 2000. Fluent in German, Spanish, English and Romanian, she holds a degree in communications from the Romanian-American University in Bucharest and a post-graduate degree in public relations from the University of Washington.
• Danny Shapiro, Senior Director of Automotive, NVIDIA
  Danny Shapiro is the Senior Director of NVIDIA's automotive business unit focused on developing autonomous vehicle hardware and software platforms that integrate computer vision, deep learning and sensor fusion. He is a 25-year veteran of Silicon Valley tech firms, having served in marketing, business development and engineering roles.
• Geoff Snyder, Vice President of Business Development, Automotive and Connected Devices, Pandora
  Geoff Snyder is focused on the extension of Pandora into vehicles and connected devices. As consumers demand better music experiences at home and in the car, he is focused on developing relationships with representatives of the world's top automotive and consumer electronics brands, working as a liaison between engineering and business teams to make personalized radio widely available on-the-road and in the home.
• CCE Conference Director: Andy Gryc, Co-founder, CX3 Marketing
  Andy Gryc is a well-known automotive technology evangelist whose reputation in the industry is rooted in his hands-on experience in the automotive and embedded trenches – software architecture and engineering, technical sales and product marketing – for well over two decades at companies like QNX, OnStar and HP. Through CX3 Marketing, he lends his industry knowledge, technology insights and marketing expertise to analysts, journalists and companies throughout the automotive industry.

The LA Auto Show and CCE will announce more details, including session and discussion topics and industry expert participants over the coming months. For more information visit www.ConnectedCarExpo.com and www.LAAutoShow.com.

About the Los Angeles Auto Show and Connected Car Expo
Founded in 1907, the Los Angeles Auto Show is the first major North American auto show of the season each year. Press & Trade Days for the 2016 LA Auto Show® will be held on Nov. 15 – 17, 2016.  The show will be open to the public Nov. 18 – Nov. 27. The fourth annual Connected Car Expo (CCE) will unite automotive and technology professionals in an effort to increase development and foster relationship-building in the connected car industry, providing attendees with access to the key players and top media constructing the future of the connected car. CCE will take place Nov. 15, in conjunction with the 2016 LA Auto Show Press & Trade Days. The LA Auto Show is endorsed by the Greater L.A. New Car Dealer Association and is operated by ANSA Productions. To receive the latest show news and information, follow LA Auto Show on Twitter or Facebook and sign up for alerts at www.LAAutoShow.com. For more information on CCE please visit http://connectedcarexpo.com/.

Media Contacts:
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SOURCE Los Angeles Auto Show