Episode 21 | On the Move

Navigating Change: From Banking to Automotive and Beyond with Michelle Avary

Michelle Avary
VP Product Strategy & Government Affairs, North America, Einride

As a leader in automotive technologies, Avary has been at the forefront of revolutionizing the mobility space and has devoted her career in establishing better infrastructures for automotive, autonomous, IoT, and connectivity platforms. She is passionate about improving safety and decarbonizing mobility. A key member of Einride’s executive team in North America setting the company’s strategic direction and product vision, Mrs. Avary guides the development of key electric, autonomous, and digital products and services, leads government relations and public policy, creation of safety management systems, and helps scale overall business.

Prior to joining Einride, Michelle was Global Head of Automotive and Autonomous Mobility at the World Economic Forum. She oversaw a global team accelerating the transformation of mobility to be safer, cleaner, and more equitable. In partnership with respective Chairs, she led the Automotive Governor’s community meeting annually in Davos and created the Global Autonomous Vehicle Council, comprised of the top AV companies and regulators from around the world.

Prior to joining the World Economic Forum, Avary, was Vice President of Products and Strategy, Global Automotive Io(m)T at Aeris. Under her leadership, automotive revenue grew by over 20% annually. She was instrumental in winning one of the largest automotive customers, resulting in over $1 billion in revenues. Prior to Aeris, Avary led a global team that developed and operated embedded and tethered services for Toyota Motor Sales, bringing in over $60 million annually, and scouted technologies for leading supplier Harman. Michelle is a noted public speaker and thought leader appearing at SXSW, Reuters, on BBC, NPR, and the Forum’s Agenda as well as guest lecturer at University of Pennsylvania and University of California Berkeley.

An endless pioneer in developing automotive technologies, Avary co-founded Drive Time Metrics, an automotive data monetization startup. Her passion for technology, diversity, and equality culminated in establishing one of the first in the world women in technology groups, Women in Automotive Technology an advocacy group that empowers women worldwide to reach their potential in tech and auto field.

As an avid promoter of automotive technologies and a lobbyist, Avary is on the advisory board for various startups, including DeepScale (sold to Tesla) and Sfara and has been recognized by the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board as a subject matter expert on automotive technologies. She also served as an executive director for the Future of Automotive Security and Technology Research, as well as LA Auto Show’s advisory board.

Her patents for telematics technologies including Automatic Crash Notification Using Pre-recorded Messages, Cross Channel In-vehicle Media Consumption Measurement and Analysis, and Discovery Playlist Creation are recognized worldwide. Avary has several more pending patents.

Avary holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Pennsylvania State University, a Masters of Art in Economics from the University of San Francisco, and studied international law and economics at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. She is also a certified yoga instructor.

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