Oakland County business leaders named to Connected Car Task Force

County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has appointed three Oakland County business leaders to a task force that will make recommendations on how to deploy the world's first county-wide connected car vehicle system. He announced this initiative during his 20th State of the County speech Wednesday evening at Centerpoint Marriott in Pontiac. Fred Nader, founder and president of AutoTech Technology Development Inc. will chair the task force. Joining him on the committee will be Elaina Farnsworth, CEO of Mobile Comply, and Paul Haelterman, vice president and managing director of IHS Automotive Advisory Services. They will collect information from connected vehicle stakeholders and industry leaders and experts in order to develop an implementation plan to present to Patterson's office. The committee will hold its first meeting this month. "This task force of industry experts, in mobile, manufacturing and automotive will be meeting with automakers, tier one suppliers and other stakeholders to design how we can best train people to operate and deploy a connected vehicle system throughout Oakland County," Patterson said. A connected car will be able to transmit data about the vehicle and its location to other cars and to road infrastructure. These transmissions, known as "heartbeats," will be able to send location data that will dramatically reduce auto accidents as well as assisting emergency responders during an accident or crisis. "I will be placing Oakland County on the global map as the first county in the world to initiate a countywide connected car ecosystem," Patterson said. "This initiative demonstrates our bold thinking and the potential for job growth is staggering." There is a push on now to further develop connected car infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Transportation has jumped in with financial support through grants and is pushing for the deployment of research and development "test zones." One such test zone is in Ann Arbor. There are also private companies engaged in the same effort to develop this new technology. "I strongly feel we have the opportunity here in Oakland County to build upon the research which has been done so far and deploy the technology in a countywide connected car ecosystem," Patterson said. Fred Nader is the founder and president of AutoTech Technology Development Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kenmar Corporation. His daily responsibilities include economic evaluation of new technology, strategic planning and team leadership for developing and implementing new technology in the automotive sector. He has been involved in developing and implementing connected car technology since 1999. Elaina Farnsworth is a leader in the mobile industry and a member of the Brooks Patterson Elite 40 under 40 Class of 2013. In her role as CEO of Mobile Comply, she coaches executives and their teams on mobile proficiency, certifications and strategies. Farnsworth and her team develop curriculum focusing on mobility training for industry specific implementations in automotive, municipalities and healthcare. She and her team recently published Mobility+ for the IT Professional, a comprehensive text book supporting the world's first CompTIA Mobility+ Certification. She serves on the board of directors of the Mobile Technology Trade Association of Michigan and the advisory board for Oakland University INCubator (OUINC). In April 2012, Farnsworth was appointed director of global communications of the International Connected Vehicle Trade Association. Paul Haelterman is the managing director of IHS Automotive's Global Consulting practice. His team performs focused and custom analysis within the global automotive marketplace for vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and governmental agencies. He has more than 39 years of experience in the global automotive business. Haelterman has been leading the global automotive consulting team at IHS for the past 13 years, focusing on key trends driving the global automotive market including infotainment, telematics, active safety, advanced powertrains and interiors. For additional information about being involved with developing the world's first county-wide connected car ecosystem, contact connectedcar@oakgov.com. Published: Fri, Feb 14, 2014