John B. Moavenzadeh, a director with the World Economic Forum managing the relationship with transportation companies, joined the IMVP team November 24 as executive director. Moavenzadeh will be based at IMVP's Wharton School offices at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
The new executive director will work with Co-Directors John Paul MacDuffie, Wharton Associate Professor, and MIT Professor Michael Cusumano to enhance IMVP's value proposition and coordinate activities among the global network of researchers and sponsors. IMVP has staff at MIT, Wharton, and in Florida and researchers at dozens of universities from Tokyo to Oxford.
Moavenzadeh's work with the World Economic Forum, renowned for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, focused on strategy and program development for over 100 companies in the automotive, aerospace, travel, tourism, logistics, and transportation sectors. As an associate with Booz Allen & Hamilton in McLean, Virginia, from 1996-1999, he consulted with corporate and government clients on transportation and international trade issues. Moavenzadeh served as a transportation policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Transportation in Cambridge in 1995-1996 focusing on regulatory, policy, and finance issues. He was a product design engineer with Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan, from 1990-1994. He holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, a MS in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University.
Read
on to learn how Moavenzadeh plans to translate his WEF experience into
value for IMVP.
Interview with John Moavenzadeh
What is the
World Economic Forum and what did you do there?
The World Economic Forum is an independent non-profit based in Geneva, Switzerland,
that engages the global business community in advancing global issues. During
my four years in Geneva, I managed a team responsible for the liaison between
the Forum and about 120 multinational companies in the Mobility Industries
- companies like Toyota, FedEx, Boeing, and Lufthansa. I also managed several
projects and working groups on automotive issues such as global climate change,
automotive telematics, and environmental and safety regulation.
What did you
learn at the World Economic Forum that will be useful in your new role as
IMVP Executive Director?
First I learned about the dynamics of the automotive industry from a high-level,
strategic perspective - that is, I learned a lot about what senior executives
in the industry think about. This will be useful for shaping the IMVP agenda.
I also learned how to motivate senior executives, often with opposing viewpoints,
to work together with their competitors to advance complex issues. For example,
the Forum worked with executives responsible for the issue of global climate
change at several automotive companies to map out their individual company
positions and arrive at a common industry-wide position. Finally, I learned
how to manage communities and networks of people - something fundamental to
both the Forum and IMVP.
What type of alliance is developing between the World Economic Forum and
the International Motor Vehicle Program?
I see very strong synergies between the Forum's automotive program and the
IMVP and I intend to leverage those synergies by developing a strategic alliance
between the two organizations. The question to ask is "what does each
side bring to the table?" IMVP provides a network of top-notch researchers,
committed supporters in industry, and a well-respected brand within the industry.
The Forum provides an established community of automotive CEOs and senior
executives, access to other key stakeholders (e.g., CEOs of oil companies,
heads of environmental NGOs, top government officials) and an unbiased platform
to integrate this community with other key stakeholders.
The vision that I would like to realize is IMVP acting as a powerful resource for the Forum's automotive community by providing knowledge and strategic insight that is valuable, timely, and relevant for senior executives. Importantly, both programs have a global scope, which is appropriate for the automotive industry.
What are your
priorities in 2004?
My first priority is to deliver more value for our sponsors by working with
John Paul and Michael to develop new IMVP signature products. The International
Assembly Plant Study has had a profound impact on the industry. It is this
impact - the relevance and value of the product for our sponsors - that we
strive to repeat with new products. For example, we are currently launching
a product called Lean Locational Logic to provide valuable insight into an
important industry question: where to locate the manufacturing activities
and associated design and engineering support of automotive components. We
are starting with case studies and working through 2004 on developing an analytical
model based on factors such as capital and labor intensity of the production
process, product complexity, logistical requirements, etc. There are other
things that need to be done with IMVP, but my focus over the next year will
be on value for our sponsors and for our researchers.
What do you
see as some of the strategic challenges facing IMVP?
The pace of change is accelerating in our world. Even in the automotive industry
- a slow clockspeed industry, to use Charlie Fine's term - things are starting
to move faster and big changes are on the horizon. This is a tremendous opportunity
for IMVP. Developments in China could have epic implications for the automotive
industry. Hybrid electric vehicles are finally selling in significant volumes,
and hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles are generating excitement and, more
importantly, attracting investment. At the same time, this is a brutally competitive
industry under tremendous financial pressure. Some OEMs seem to be caught
in a trap of offering generous incentives to maintain high volumes to meet
pension and health liabilities. It is my aspiration to put IMVP at the heart
of the array of strategic issues that will confront the automotive industry
and its stakeholders as these changes unfold.
|
|
new