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Newt talks with Kevin Czinger, lead inventor, Founder, and Executive Chairman of Czinger Vehicles and its parent company, Divergent Technologies about his recent visit to the Divergent 3D factory in Torrance, California. They discuss Czinger's impressive background, from his working-class roots in Ohio to his achievements in football, military service, and law. Czinger shares his journey from Yale Law School to becoming a Deputy US Attorney and later joining Goldman Sachs. He explains his transition to founding Coda Automotive and eventually Divergent Technologies, focusing on sustainable production systems. Their conversation highlights Divergent's innovative manufacturing process, which integrates AI, 3D printing, and robotics to create advanced, lightweight structures for various industries, including automotive and aerospace. Czinger also discusses the development of the Czinger 21C, the world's fastest street-legal hypercar, and the potential of Divergent's technology to revolutionize the aerospace and defense industries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, Rob and Ileana are joined by Alex Mitchell, the SVP Unlocking Innovation, where he oversees all founder-facing efforts, including recruitment, all incubation programs, as well as investments of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) Impact Fund and LACI Cleantech Debt Fund. Alex and our hosts share their enthusiasm for the urgency and opportunity of Clean/Green technology and mobility solutions in today's entrepreneurial economies. Alex emphasizes many of the Innovations in transit and green policymaking across many of Latin America's biggest cities and shares his hopes to bring those here to the United States. He dives deeply into LACI and it's programs, Investment Funds and deep focus on an "Inclusive Green Economy." He highlights LACI's 3 pillars; Unlocking Innovation (startup facing), Market Transformation (Intentional Partnerships with Corporate & Governments) and Enhancing Community (intentional acknowledgement of Cleantech creating "Green Collar Jobs" to far more diverse communities.) He joined LACI from Groupe PSA in Paris where he was VP of Corporate Strategy, co-leading the company's acquisition of Opel from General Motors and leading the company's work on autonomous mobility. Alex previously headed an automotive industry vertical at the World Economic Forum, with a focus on autonomous mobility. Alex has also served as the VP of retail sales at an LA-based EV startup Coda Automotive and worked at Toyota Europe and McKinsey. Alex is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained an MBA from the Wharton School and an MA from the School of Arts and Sciences as a Fellow of the Lauder Institute Global MBA program. He holds a BA from Stanford University. His rescue dog makes frequent guest appearances on his Zoom calls. Feel free to follow and engage with ALEX MITCHELL here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmitchell98/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamalexmitchell Website: https://laincubator.org We're so grateful to you, our growing audience of entrepreneurs, investors, builders, influencers and those interested in the entrepreneurial economies of Latin America and the under-represented entrepreneurial communities in the USA! Plug in, relax and enjoy some Spanish, English and a fun dose of spanglish as always. We're here to help inspire, educate and empower you, so that you can build the future! ¡Salud y gracias!, Mentors Today's Team --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mentorstoday/message
Alex Mitchell is the SVP Unlocking Innovation, where he oversees all founder-facing efforts, including recruitment, all incubation programs, as well as investments of the LACI Impact Fund and LACI Cleantech Debt Fund. Key topics in this conversation include: Alex's remarkable career journey, and how that led him to LACI The unique value LACI provides for founders The most promising trends in cleantech for impact and financial returns When debt might be a better choice than giving up equity Project Drawdown and our options for decarbonization Links: Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/AlexMitchell https://alexmitchell.substack.com/ https://laincubator.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmitchell98 https://twitter.com/iamalexmitchell Alex's Bio Alex Mitchell is the SVP Unlocking Innovation, where he oversees all founder-facing efforts, including recruitment, all incubation programs, as well as investments of the LACI Impact Fund and LACI Cleantech Debt Fund. He joined LACI from Groupe PSA in Paris where he was VP of Corporate Strategy, co-leading the company's acquisition of Opel from General Motors and leading the company's work on autonomous mobility. Alex previously headed an automotive industry vertical at the World Economic Forum, with a focus on autonomous mobility. Alex has also served as the VP of retail sales at an LA-based EV startup Coda Automotive and worked at Toyota Europe and McKinsey. Alex is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained an MBA from the Wharton School and an MA from the School of Arts and Sciences as a Fellow of the Lauder Institute Global MBA program. He holds a BA from Stanford University. His rescue dog makes frequent guest appearances on his Zoom calls. About The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation through helping scale cleantech startups, transforming markets through catalytic partnerships like the Transportation Electrification Partnership, and enhancing communities through green workforce training and pilots. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP) in 2011, LACI is recognized as one of the top 10 innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. To date, LACI has supported 315 startup companies that have secured more than $695 million in funding, generated more than $308 million in revenue, and helped to create an estimated 2,480 jobs with a long-term projected economic impact of more than $555 million. Future of Mobility: The Future of Mobility podcast is focused on the development and implementation of safe, sustainable, and equitable mobility solutions, with a spotlight on the people and technology advancing these fields. linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/ brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/
Kevin Czinger is the founder, lead inventor and CEO of Divergent Technologies. He founded Divergent to revolutionize car manufacturing by inventing and deploying an end-to-end digital production system, thereby catalyzing and leading the global manufacturing transition from analog to digital production. Divergent 3D's patented manufacturing platform radically reduces the materials, energy, and capital needed to build a car as well as accelerating innovation. It was named Google's Solve for X "Moonshot" for its disruptive impact on global transportation and awarded the Petersen Automotive Museum's inaugural Award for Innovation and Leadership. Prior to Divergent 3D, Czinger co-founded Coda Automotive, an all-electric car company with vehicles fully safety certified for the U.S., Chinese and European markets. Czinger was also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Benchmark Capital and an investor and operating executive in private and public technology companies. Early in his career, he served as an Executive Director of Goldman Sachs in Asia and Europe, where he focused on technology and telecom growth investments. Czinger is a graduate of Yale University and serves Yale as a Sterling Fellow, a Member of the President's International Advisory Council and a Board Member of the Jackson Institute for World Affairs. [RECORDING DATE: June 23, 2021]
Washington, D.C. has been leading a double life of late. Not only is it the American Capitol but it seems to have usurped the title of the Motor City from Detroit as well. With federal loans to automakers, Car Czars and CAFE requirements, there’s been an extraordinary amount of auto activity in the District the last few years. That’s one of the reasons that Autoline visited our nation’s capitol earlier this year to talk autos with a variety of influencers. Join John McElroy on this week’s show as he speaks with Phil Murtaugh from CODA Automotive, Roland Hwang of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Dave Zukchowski from Hyundai Motor America and Margo Oge of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Washington, D.C. has been leading a double life of late. Not only is it the American Capitol but it seems to have usurped the title of the Motor City from Detroit as well. With federal loans to automakers, Car Czars and CAFE requirements, there’s been an extraordinary amount of auto activity in the District the last few years. That’s one of the reasons that Autoline visited our nation’s capitol earlier this year to talk autos with a variety of influencers. Join John McElroy on this week’s show as he speaks with Phil Murtaugh from CODA Automotive, Roland Hwang of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Dave Zukchowski from Hyundai Motor America and Margo Oge of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Washington, D.C. has been leading a double life of late. Not only is it the American Capitol but it seems to have usurped the title of the Motor City from Detroit as well. With federal loans to automakers, Car Czars and CAFE requirements, there’s been an extraordinary amount of auto activity in the District the last few years. That’s one of the reasons that Autoline visited our nation’s capitol earlier this year to talk autos with a variety of influencers. Join John McElroy on this week’s show as he speaks with Phil Murtaugh from CODA Automotive, Roland Hwang of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Dave Zukchowski from Hyundai Motor America and Margo Oge of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Pole Position Forrest Beanum, Vice President of Government Relations, Coda Automotive Oliver Kuttner, CEO, Edison2 Bill Reinert, National Manager, Toyota Michael Robinson, VP for Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, General Motors Dan Sperling, Member, California Air Resources Board; Professor, UC Davis Fifteen years have passed since a major automaker has attempted to market an electric vehicle. Within five years, rare will be the auto showroom that lacks one. But before EVs dominate the market, industry, policymakers, and consumers will have to grapple with some unresolved questions, says this panel of industry giants and start-ups. Those questions are a primary reason why “in pure electric cars, there’s very little first-mover advantage,” says Bill Reinert, National Manager, Toyota, “when you’re out there trying to figure out where the infrastructure’s going to go, and how the tow service works, and what happens when the charger doesn’t charge your car.” Dan Sperling, member, California Air Resources Board, disagrees that carmakers should avoid positioning themselves as a leader in the EV race. Yes, there are technology and scaling challenges, he says, but being first “does create a hallo for the entire company, which Toyota understands better than anyone – what the Prius did.” Michael Robinson, VP for Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, General Motors, is coming to see the benefit of that green hallo. His company has sold 2,000 units of its extended-range electric car, the Chevy Volt, since it went on sale in late 2010. Half of those sales have come in California, Robinson says, and 90% of total sales have been to Prius owners. Oliver Kuttner, CEO, Edison2, says carmakers need to figure out how to design electric cars to be lighter and more efficient. “If we were to re-think the way a car is built, and built the car in a more efficient way, like an airplane,” you could downsize the battery – the most expensive piece of an EV, costing upwards of $10,000 to $15,000 per car. During the Q&A, an audience member asks if automakers might be underestimating the demand for EVs. “Absolutely,” responded Forrest Beanum, Vice President of Government Relations, Coda Automotive. He cites Coda’s reading of independent studies finding that 40% of consumers want to own or drive an electric vehicle. What might make the difference this time is that carmakers appear to want EVs to succeed. It might seem counterintuitive, says GM’s Michael Robinson, but “we’re actually pulling for one another to be successful. We want the technology to be successful.” Dan Sperling agrees. “We’re way ahead of the regulatory process. We’re way ahead of the market process. Standardization issues are a challenge. This is a big adventure – and hugely important. We have to make this successful,” he says. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California, San Francisco on May 12th, 2011