Lyft Co-Founder and President John Zimmer to Keynote LA Auto Show's Connected Car Expo

Connected Car Expo^® (CCE), the auto industry’s most authoritative gathering of automotive and technology leaders, announced today that Lyft, Inc. Co-Founder and President John Zimmer will keynote the Nov. 17 auto-tech conference and exhibition held at JW Marriott L.A. Live.  CCE is part of the LA Auto Show’s Press & Trade Days at the LA Convention Center (Nov 18 & 19), where more than 50 vehicles will be unveiled to an expected 25,000 auto industry executives, including 4,500 media from around the world.

John Zimmer founded Lyft, Inc. with Logan Green in 2012 and the ridesharing platform has quickly become one of today’s fastest-growing tech companies with more than $1 billion raised from leading investors.  Lyft operates in 65 cities across the United States with more than 100,000 drivers on its platform.  In August 2014, Lyft introduced Lyft Line, a ridesharing product that utilizes its existing driver network to transport passengers going the same direction at the same time.

Zimmer was named in Forbes’ “30 Under 30: Technology” list, and both he and Green were named in Inc. Magazine’s “35 Under 35” list.  Zimmer is recognized as a pioneer and one of the foremost experts of the “on-demand” economy as Lyft has emerged as the leading rideshare company affecting positive change in the transportation business.  During the keynote, Zimmer will discuss his vision for a future with less traffic congestion and ultimately how the face of transportation will be changed around the world.

The Lyft keynote will kick off an entire day of discussions, presentations, news conferences plus exhibits from some of the top companies in the auto-tech space. More than 25 speakers will outline their vision for the dramatic changes facing the auto industry.

Highlights include:

·         Chris Valasek, director of vehicle security research, IOActive, to provide a deep dive into his Jeep hack that resulted in the world’s first automotive cybersecurity recall of 1.4 million vehicles.

·         David Strickland, partner at Venable LLC and former Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Karl Heimer, founding partner of Autoimmune and Special Adviser for Cyber Security to the State of Michigan; and Andrew Weimerskirch, associate research scientist at the University of Michigan Transportation Institute, to discuss problems and solutions surrounding auto cybersecurity.

·         Henry Newton-Dunn, Design Manager, Google, to discuss Android Auto from the inside out.

·         Ned Curic, Chief Technology Officer, Toyota Motor Sales; Nick Sugimoto, Senior Program Director, Honda Silicon Valley Lab; and Dr. Frankie James, Managing Director Advanced Technology, Silicon Valley Office, General Motors, to discuss how automotive OEMs are tapping into west coast technology.

·         RJ Mical, Director of Games, Google; Larry Rosin, President, Edison Research; and Eric Migicovsky, Founder, Pebble, to explain how consumer electronics are reshaping vehicle interiors.

·         Prof. Thomas Form, Electronics & Vehicle Research, Volkswagen, and Brian Droessler, VP of Software & Connected Solutions, Continental, to discuss the long and winding road to autonomous vehicles.

“As technology disrupts the auto industry much like it changed the rules for the music and film industries, its critical to learn from key innovators like Lyft’s John Zimmer,” said Lisa Kaz, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Auto Show and Connected Car Expo. “The future direction of the Auto Industry is being determined by a multitude of players and the LA Auto Show’s Connected Car Expo brings together this new auto industry ecosystem to responsibly map the way.”

In the coming months, CCE will be releasing additional information on more panels and participating speakers. For a full list of current panel topics and speakers please visit: ConnectedCarExpo.com/schedule.

On Nov. 17, all presentations, discussions, CCE exhibits and news conferences will be held at the JW Marriott L.A. Live, which is adjacent to the LA Convention Center.  The remaining Press & Trade Days events and news conferences (Nov 18 & 19) will take place at the LA Convention Center.  To register for CCE and LA Auto Show Press & Trade Days, please visit: LAAutoShow.com/Join.

For additional information on CCE and LA Auto Show please visit: ConnectedCarExpo.com and LAAutoShow.com.

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LA Auto Show Unveils the Next-Generation Auto Industry at Connected Car Expo

The Los Angeles Auto Show’s Connected Car Expo will assemble the companies and innovators that are redefining the automotive and transportation business.  The full day conference and exposition has out grown its previous space at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will now occupy virtually the entire JW Marriott at the adjacent L.A. Live entertainment complex.

“Expanding our campus to include the adjacent JW Marriott delivers a presentation room with capacity for 1,500 seats, 60,000 square feet of exhibit floor and dozens of meeting and hospitality areas,” said the show’s EVP and General Manager Terri Toennies.  “The demand on exhibit and hospitality space has already created limited availability.”

More than 25 speakers will outline their vision for the dramatic changes facing the auto industry as it collaborates with technology titans like Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Qualcomm and dozens of other fast-moving tech innovators.  Influential experts from Google, Volkswagen, Continental, Movimento, Redbend, J.D. Power, Pebble and others will converge in Los Angeles to debate some of the industry’s most critical issues and identify opportunities and challenges that lie on the road ahead.  Selected by the CCE Advisory Board, this year’s conference topics focus on the hot-button issues including autonomous vehicles, car sharing, cybersecurity, 3D printing, over-the-air updates and much more.  The full tentative schedule can be seen at: www.connectedcarexpo.com/schedule.

In addition to the conference, CCE attendees will be able to discover the latest automotive innovations at the JW Marriott, where more than 30 companies will demonstrate their latest solutions and products. Companies participating include Auto Alliance, Covisint, Elektrobit, Faurecia, Garmin, Global Automakers, KPMG, Mojio, OnStar, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, QNX, whiteCryption, Wind River and dozens of start-ups and app developers.  The exhibit floor will also serve as this year’s stage for several auto-tech press conferences on Nov. 17.

“This collaboration between major auto and technology players, combined with the emergence of thousands of disruptive start-up companies, creates an unprecedented need for an automotive-focused forum connecting this rapidly changing industry,” said Lisa Kaz, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Auto Show and CCE.

Part of the LA Auto Show’s broader Press & Trade Days, CCE is the award-winning conference and trade show that unites innovators, manufacturers, futurists and influencers to further the convergence of technology and the automobile.  This year’s CCE kicks off with an evening welcome reception on Monday, Nov. 16, and is followed by LA Auto Show’s Press & Trade events at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Nov. 18-19.  Other CCE events start on Saturday Nov 14 & 15 including the Mojio hackathon and the UCLA Anderson School of Business Connected Car discussion taking place after the Monday evening reception at the JW Marriott.

Registration is now open.  CCE exhibitors and attendees with a three days pass will be able to witness this year’s vehicle debuts and have access to an all-new CCE networking destination at the convention center.

For more information visit www.ConnectedCarExpo.com and www.LAAutoShow.com.

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