The 10 Most Powerful People in the Auto Business

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Who is Sebastian Thrun, you ask? Well, he is the Director of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at Stanford University in California. What does that have to do with cars, you wonder? Well, Sebastian Thrun and his Artificial Intelligence Lab have helped to develop Google’s driverless car. The first completely autonomous vehicle in the world. We agree. Pretty impressive. A professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford University, Sebastien Thrun runs the A.I. Lab on campus. And he used his smarts to develop and build "Stanley,” a driverless car for Google that won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, and is now on display at the Smithsonian. A group of 15 engineers at Google are today working to perfect driverless cars and make them functional for everyday driving in urban and rural locations. But they would be nowhere without Sebastian Thrun and his lab’s early work.

At first glance, this may seem like a bit of a head scratcher. However, the automotive industry has, to a degree, defined the presidency of Barack Obama. The first thing the U.S. President did when he took office in 2009 was to approve a $80 billion bailout of the automotive industry. Not only did the bailout save more than a million American jobs, it also helped to salvage the global automotive industry and saved many millions more jobs in Europe and Asia. While Barack Obama received a lot of criticism, at the time, for bailing out the private sector, the move was necessary and right. If that weren’t enough, over the eight years he’s been president, Barack Obama has also approved $4 billion of funding into autonomous car research (see Sebastian Thrun on the previous slide). When the day comes, in the not too distant future, when we’re all commuting in driverless cars, we’ll have Barack Obama to thank.

Li Shufu is a wheeler dealer in China. He is alternately described as an industrialist, entrepreneur, automotive executive and political confident. What we do know for sure is that the Chinese-born Li Shufu is Chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd., which is an automotive manufacturing company that makes cars, taxis, motorcycles, engines and transmissions. It also owns the Volvo automotive brand and related products, and sells taxis under the "London Taxi” brand. But Li Shufu is not on this list because he makes and sells Volvos. He’s on this list because he is the most powerful automotive executive in China, and China is soon to be the world’s biggest and most lucrative market for car sales. We can only guess how he goes about greasing the wheels in China, but he is successful and is helping to open up automotive trade between China and the rest of the world, which is good for the entire industry.

As the head honcho at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and keeper of the Ferrari brand of cars, Sergio Marchionne is viewed as a pillar of Europe’s automotive industry. And he is currently struggling to right the ship at Fiat Chrysler. Lagging sales around the world and red ink have placed Fiat Chrysler on the brink in recent years, and Sergio Marchionne was brought in as a white knight saviour for the company. He shook up the company’s executive ranks, overhauled their research and development focus, and switched production away from sedans and hatchbacks and towards in demand sport utility vehicles, particularly under the "Jeep” brand. The efforts appear to be paying off as Fiat Chrysler reported, in the first quarter of this year, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $1.56 billion – double the earnings from a year ago. Still, Fiat Chrysler has more than $5 billion of debt and is actively seeking a partner to merge with having most recently courted General Motors. Time will tell if Fiat Chrysler can truly survive, but, in Europe, all eyes in the automotive industry remain on Sergio Marchionne.

Justice Charles Breyer is a judge who sits on the U.S. District Court. He’s also the man who is presiding over the clusterf**k that is the Volkswagen emissions scandal. You know, the scandal wherein Volkswagen rigged software in their diesel vehicles so they could pass vehicle emissions tests while still spewing pollutants and without actually being good for the environment. Yeah, that’s been a bit of a mess, what with the largest automotive recall in history and hundreds of class action lawsuits. But what makes Judge Breyer powerful is not just that he will ultimately decided how much VW pays to settle the many, many lawsuits it is facing. It is that Judge Breyer is ensuring that the German carmaker fully complies with environmental laws, and his rulings will likely have far reaching influence on future cases involving vehicle emissions, as well as future environmental laws and regulations, not to mention the development of future green technology. For these reasons, Judge Breyer is a very important guy.

Jason Castriota is an American designer who is influencing high end luxury cars and racing vehicles around the world. Part of a small design firm situated in New York City called Skylabs, Jason Castriota has built a reputation as one of the stars in the world of automotive design. He has already created cars that are considered masterpieces such as the Ferrari P 4/5, the Maserati GranTurismo, and the SCC Tuatara. These cars alone would be enough to base an entire career on, but Jason Castriota is still going strong. He has also designed the Bertone Mantide and Saab Phoenix. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess, but he is a much sought after designer whose creations are influencing automotive manufacturers around the globe.

Known in his native Britain simply as "F1 Supremo,” Bernie Ecclestone is the Chairman of Formula One Group, and he owns and controls everything related to the world’s most popular car racing circuit and events – including the global television rights. This not only means that Bernie Ecclestone is insanely wealthy with a net worth estimated at $4 billion. But he is also very influential in the automotive industry – regularly called upon to give his opinion on everything from automotive advertising to the design of transmissions. He is also a master negotiator and always seems to wrangle great deals for himself and the Formula One Group, no matter who is on the other side of the table. And Bernie Ecclestone is hell-bent on continuing to grow the influence and importance of F1 racing around the world.

As Chief Executive Officer of General Motors Corp., Mary Barra is arguably the most powerful woman in the automotive industry. While no longer the world’s largest automaker, General Motors is still a huge company that boasts 17 vehicle brands and manufacturing sites in 37 countries. General Motors also remains at the forefront of green technology and electric vehicles, notably with the Chevy Bolt, which is considered by automotive analysts to be a competitor to the widely touted Tesla Model 3. There is growing speculation that General Motors, which has ample cash reserves, will establish a hydrogen or electric-charging facility to meet its future needs. And Mary Barra is increasingly viewed as the visionary behind General Motors forays into the automotive future.

Perhaps the only automotive executive in Detroit who is more powerful than Mary Barra is Ford Motor Company Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields. A company man who rose through the ranks at Ford over a 26-year career at the automaker, Mark Fields has held the top post since 2014, taking over after Ford had made it through the worst of the 2008 recession and government bailout backlash, both of which pummeled Ford’s stock price. Today, Ford’s stock is on the rise again thanks to popular vehicle offerings such as the Ford Focus RS, Shelby GT350R and the latest model of the Ford GT. Plus, there remains the ever reliable Ford F-150 pick-up truck to help drive sales and the company’s bottom line. Today, Mark Fields has his sights fixed on building valuable technology partnerships and developing self-driving cars that appear to be the future of the industry.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Tesla Motors and Space X, Elon Musk has positioned himself as a bit of a folk hero in the automotive industry. The visionary behind PayPal is today focused on developing an affordable completely electric vehicle for the masses that can travel far distances on a single battery charge. Earlier this year, he unveiled the Tesla Model 3, an electric car that promises to retail for about $35,000, which would make it attractive to middle class consumers. Whether the Model 3, which is supposed to go into production and be available to buy in late 2017, can deliver on its promise remains to be seen. But with Tesla, Elon Musk has, to date, cornered the market on electric cars. And for that he earns top marks and the number one place on this list.