ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle Technology Expo California 2026 Exhibitor List

Özgür İpek serves as Europe Operations Director at ADASTEC, where he leads European operations and supports business development efforts. With a strong background in Automotive Engineering and a Master’s degree in Intelligent Vehicles, Özgür brings over 9 years of experience in the autonomous mobility domain. His expertise spans system development, deployment, and scaling of automated driving technologies across diverse operational environments. He is motivated by the broader adoption of public transportation and its evolution through automated technologies. His work focuses on enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable automated public transportation systems.

Sowmya Gopal is a senior leader in the automotive technology sector, specializing in software-defined vehicles, location intelligence and mobility. She currently serves as the global head of automotive navigation solutions at Here Technologies, where she leads the digital cockpit portfolio and location-based solutions, incorporating location services into apps for passenger and commercial vehicles, including EVs. Her work focuses on enabling seamless in-vehicle experiences, supporting both connected and automated driving.

Dr. Gradu’s extensive C-level executive and Board industry experience highlights a successful track record of product development and market deployment with leading global automotive OEMs and suppliers including Daimler, Fiat-Chrsyler, Hyundai and Ballard. He also held the position of Chief Product and Quality Officer at Velodyne Lidar, a provider of smart sensing solutions for vehicle autonomy. Dr. Gradu holds a Doctorate in Engineering from the Technical University of Stuttgart, Germany, has been extensively published and awarded over 60 patents, was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Irvine. He is currently the Chairman of the Board at FISITA, the global professional organization for Mobility and the Vice President - Vehicle Engineering at Karma Automotive the American luxury electric vehicle company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Irvine, California.

Andreas is a project manager in group innovation at Volkswagen, applying generative AI to create test and training data. He studied computer science at the Technical University of Magdeburg.

Dr Lutz Kelch is an R&D manager and AI strategist at Keysight Technologies, leading teams and software projects with an automotive focus. He studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig.

Fabian Plinke is authorized representative and head of the Hamburg site at the Institute for Quality and Reliability Management GmbH (IQZ) and a member of the ISO committee on AI safety in vehicles. Holding a PhD in safety engineering, he specializes in safety analysis and risk assessment. Plinke has contributed to major research projects regarding autonomous vehicle safety and supported OEMs and suppliers in implementing safety processes. Beyond automotive, his expertise extends to aviation and wind energy.

Eric Pohl works at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), developing automation systems for innovative vehicle concepts that integrate perception, planning and driving functions. He has a background in electrical engineering, having completed his bachelor’s at DHBW in partnership with Siemens AG and earned a master’s from TU Darmstadt, where he focused on artificial neural network applications to enhance sensor processing.

Duong-Van Nguyen is the deputy CEO of VinFast, leading global ADAS and autonomous driving initiatives and representing the company at the EU Commission. He previously worked at Panasonic, Hyundai-Mobis, Goethe University, Valeo and Continental. Dr Nguyen has delivered ADAS and AD systems from concept to production, received nine EU research grants, and is a senior member of IEEE with extensive publications and patents. His work bridges academic research and large-scale industrial deployment worldwide across sectors.

Sofia has been working as a new mobility consultant at RMS since 2020, focusing on autonomous driving and on-demand mobility. She coordinates and technically supports innovation projects in the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund. Her work focuses on new mobility solutions, in particular the integration of autonomous driving technologies into public transportation and the implementation of on-demand services. She supports the KIRA project, as well as further projects on autonomous driving, in an interdisciplinary manner.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rainer Müller heads the chair of assembly systems at Saarland University and the assembly systems research division at ZeMA. He previously served as ZeMA’s scientific managing director and holds an adjunct professorship at RWTH Aachen University. After studying automotive engineering and completing his doctorate in robotics, he held several senior industry positions. His research focuses on mechatronics, production automation, assembly planning, human-robot collaboration and new process technologies.