Automotive All-Stars Turn Out for Newsweek's Auto Disruptor Awards
Many of the most powerful and influential people in the automotive industry gathered at Newsweek's headquarters in New York City on Tuesday night to celebrate the World's Greatest Auto Disruptors.
This year's event featured winners in nine categories: Visionary, Executive, Design, Research and Development, Powertrain, Marketing, Sustainability, Technology and Legacy.
Winners included executives and teams from BMW, Toyota, Hyundai Motor Group, Genesis, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Lucid Motors.
Disruptor Visionary of the Year, Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW AG, was represented in-person by his team from BMW. Tom Plucinsky, head of BMW Group Product Communications for BMW of North American, accepted the award on Zipse's behalf while a video message from Zipse played on the screen.
BMW also had a win for Disruptor Research and Development of the Year, an honor accepted by Maximo Aviles on behalf of the teams of workers across the world that have helped create BMW's new electric models, including the i4 and i7 sedans, and the iX sport utility vehicle (SUV).
Akio Toyoda, the newly-installed Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, had ceremonial duties to attend to in Japan and was unable to attend to accept his award for Disruptor Executive of the Year. He sent Ted Ogawa, president and chief executive officer of Toyota Motor North America in his place, as well as a video message that was played for attendees.
Disruptor Designer of the Year Luc Donckerwolke was in attendance, along with many of his Hyundai Motor Group colleagues, including Hyundai brand design head SangYup Lee, who was recently named World Car Awards Person of the Year.
Additional notable Hyundai Motor Group attendees included Andrew Roberts, vice president and head of global public relations; Jin Cha, Hyundai Motor Group vice president; and Graeme Russell, Genesis Chief Brand Officer.
Genesis, the brand that Donckerwolke created a series of concept cars for that helped him earn his Disruptor win, sent its executive management team, including North American CEO Jose Muñoz (also Hyundai brand's Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Directors) and Genesis North American COO Claudia Marquez, to accept the company's award for Disruptor Marketing of the Year.
Muñoz and Marquez were joined by Wendy Orthman, executive director of marketing at Genesis North America, and Rachel Eperson, executive director of brand experience at Genesis House and Studios.
Powertrain engineering took center stage when Dr. Emad Dlala, vice president of powertrain at Lucid Motors, accepted the Disruptor Powertrain of the Year award on behalf of the company's engineering team. Lucid's powertrain engineering has resulted in the Lucid Air sedan being able to go over 500 miles on a single charge, with a motor setup smaller than those of the competition.
Dlala was joined by Lucid's Justin Berkowicz, manager of technology public relations; Dave Buchko, manager of product public relations; Amira Aly, head of sales for North America; and Derek Jenkins, senior vice president of design and brand.
Lamborghini took home the win in the Sustainability category, a surprise announcement that led to gasps from the audience. Though they're known for their robustly engined sports cars, the brand made strides to become carbon neutral far before it was fashionable. Its biomethane plant fuels most of its manufacturing plant with organic, renewable resources from the community. The company's fully funded Parco Lamborghini is a research hub where studies about flora and fauna are helping to inform future decisions.
The Italian company's senior leadership team attended the event to receive the award.
Wanda Young, Chief Marketing Officer of Ford Pro, took the stage to thank Newsweek for her company's win in the Disruptor Technology of the Year category. Ford Pro is a scalable ecosystem of solutions for business owners looking to modernize, finance, keep track of and save money when it comes to their fleet.
Representatives from Ford's communications team and Laurie Transou, Chief Program Engineer of the Ford Mustang joined Young at the celebration.
Legacy of Disruption winner Torsten Müller-Ötvös could not join the event in person but sent Gerry Spahn, head of Americas corporate communications for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, to receive the award on his behalf as a video message played for attendees.
In addition to the awards ceremony, the over 175 guests were treated to the sounds of a jazz trio while they sipped cocktails and enjoyed an annual reunion of sorts away from the traditional media spotlight while watching the sun set over New York's five boroughs from the 72nd floor of One World Trade Center.
