POWER LIST
Maurizio Reggiani
Chief Technical Officer, Automobili Lamborghini
2019 Rank: 19
His latest is the $2 million, 808-hp Sián hybrid supercar with a V-12 and a supercapacitor (instead of a traditional battery pack), allowing it to store more power, discharge it faster, and require less cooldown time so it’s ready to squirt out of the next corner.
Albert Biermann
Head of Research and Development, Hyundai Motor Group
2019 Rank: 17
Biermann injected performance as head of Hyundai N, and now, as global R&D boss, he spreads his engineering prowess across all Hyundai Group brands. We anticipate a Ranger Raptor competitor for Hyundai, more N models, and a limited-production halo car in partnership with Rimac.
Jim Hackett
CEO, Ford
2019 Rank: Unranked
It has taken a couple of years for Hackett’s ideas and methods to become clear, resonate, and show signs of change. He has made key partnership deals with VW and Rivian, expanded investment in Argo AI for autonomous driving, and sorted out the proper roles for his top lieutenants.
Kyle Vogt
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Cruise
2019 Rank: 40
The robotics pioneer (above) has seen his startup raise another $7.25 billion and expand to more than 1,000 employees developing and testing autonomous vehicles for GM with investment from Honda and SoftBank Vision. Cruise is valued at $19 billion and is rivaling Waymo in the race to get robocars on city streets in big volumes.
Bryan Salesky
Co-Founder and CEO, Argo AI
2019 Rank: Unranked
Salesky’s startup has attracted enough money and attention to play in the big leagues with Waymo and Cruise and is testing its robocars in six cities now. Ford and VW have invested about $2.6 billion in the private firm, which will give each automaker an autonomous driving system it can tailor to its own vehicle development programs.
Alfonso Albaisa
Senior Vice President for
