Innovation Insights Series #3 with Mercedes-Benz R&D North America
In our Innovation Insights Series #3, Dr. Benjamin Bhattacharya-Ghosh (Chief of Staff to the President & CEO; Head of Foresight & Strategy), Dr. Mohamad Abdul-Hak (Senior Manager e-Drive), Benjamin Kuhn (Senior Manager UX/UI Design) and Mike Milley (Principal Futurist) from Mercedes-Benz North America joined us for a guest lecture via Zoom.
Over 300 students followed their insights about how Mercedes-Benz is “activating” innovation. In particular, each of the four speakers shared their unique perspective on how Mercedes-Benz is successfully driving innovation in their particular field. Benjamin B.-G. highlighted the vision of Mercedes-Benz R&D North America of why and how they are generating “hype” around their newest innovations. Based on that, Mike elaborated on how Mercedes-Benz identifies and explores the key future topics in U.S. society, technology, and mobility (“Always through a luxury lens”). Next, Benjamin K. explained the importance of design and user experience for Mercedes-Benz and presented some exciting design features to the students. Finally, Mohamad talked about the electric future of how Mercedes-Benz is managing the transformation “from powertrain to e-drive”. After their presentation, our four guest speakers answered the students’ numerous questions. Overall, the students gained a holistic strategic perspective on Mercedes-Benz is meeting the challenges in the automotive industry.
Benjamin B.-G., Mohamad, Benjamin K. and Mike, thank you for getting up (very) early and for sharing your experiences with us! We will hopefully see you in person soon in Carlsbad, Los Angeles, or one of your other locations in North America.