Key Issues and Solutions for Mass Electrification of Transportation

Nancy L. Gioia

Director, Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Programs
Contact: Borsenik, Kristin (K.): kborseni (at) ford (dot) com, 313-594-0942

Abstract: This keynote speech will focus on major issues and strategic solutions for sustainable vehicle electrification. Stakeholders and enablers for long-term success are partners in battery collaborations, electrical infrastructure providers (utilities), automotive manufacturers, fuel producers, policy makers, opinion shapers, researchers, and educators. Engaging these resources in a focused and collaborative effort will make the future of electrified transportation possible and create promising opportunities for maximizing the benefits to the customer and the environment. The presentation will discuss a vital first step in this process that is currently being researched and evaluated; an electrified light duty fleet.

Bio: Nancy Lee Gioia is Ford Motor Company's director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Programs. Appointed to this position Nov. 1, 2005, she is leading efforts develop and implement Ford's current and next generation of sustainable products – including today's Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid.
Prior to this assignment, Gioia was Director of Current Model Vehicle Quality for North America where she was responsible for overall current model quality performance. Gioia has held several key management and executive positions within Ford Product Development., in electronics architecture design and integration in vehicles. To date, Gioia has been a key part of 26 different vehicle launches at the company. Gioia joined Ford Motor Company in 1982 as a graduate trainee in the Electronics Division.

Gioia received her Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and her Master of Sciences in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Stanford University. While studying with the assistance of a Ford Advanced Education Fellowship, she received the Outstanding Service Award from the Stanford Institute for Manufacturing and Automation.

In 2005 she was named as one of the Automotive News "100 Leading Women in the Auto Industry." In September 2007, she received the Rare Foundation's "Ordinary Hero" Award for leadership and mentoring, and Crain's Detroit Business Award as one of Metro Detroit's Most Influential Women in 2007. She remains an active member with Stanford University as the Ford Corporate Champion and is a member of the Smith College Advisory Board, the Electric Drive Transportation Association Board, and the UC Davis Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Center Advisory Board.y