Institutional Welcome
Speakers
Test Drive / 17 nov | 13.30 – 17.00
Welcome Session / 18 nov | 9.00 – 9.30
Event introduction and welcome speeches
Stefano Corgnati
Professor Stefano Paolo Corgnati is currently serving as the Rector of the Politecnico di Torino. Born in 1973 and graduated with honors in Mechanical Engineering and PhD in Energetics, he is Full Professor of Technical Environmental Physics at the Energy Department (TEBE research group) of the Politecnico di Torino.
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Bernardino D’Auria
Agenzia Nazionale Attrazione Investimenti e Sviluppo Impresa, Head of the Research Enhancement Unit
Bernardino D’Auria
Agenzia Nazionale Attrazione Investimenti e Sviluppo Impresa, Head of the Research Enhancement Unit
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Fabrizio Pirri
Politecnico di Torino, Vice Rector for Research Model and Infrastructure Development
Fabrizio Pirri
Fabrizio Pirri is Full Professor of Physics of Matter at Politecnico di Torino and Director of the Center for Sustainable Future Technologies at the Italian Institute of Technology. He also serves as Vice Rector for Research Infrastructure and leads the CO₂ CIRCLE LAB initiative. His work focuses on micro- and nanotechnologies for energy and environmental applications, and he has authored over 400 international publications.
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Session 1 / 9.30 – 11.00
Perspectives on sustainable mobility
Marco Tonetti
Stellantis, Powertrain Vertical Integration Director & South Europe coordinator for TECH Research
Marco Tonetti
Marco Tonetti holds a Master’s degree in Electronic Engineering. With over 30 years of experience in automotive, he has worked at CRF, FCA, and Stellantis, where he has held various roles on propulsion systems. He is currently Powertrain Vertical Integration Director within the TECH Research area at Stellantis. As of this year, he also coordinates the Stellantis South Europe TECH Research.
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Luciano Bonaria
Luciano Bonaria, founder and President of SPEA S.p.A., is a visionary entrepreneur who transformed Italy’s innovation in electronic testing into global excellence. Honored with an Honorary Master’s Degree in Mechatronic Engineering by Politecnico di Torino in 2023, he continues to inspire new generations of engineers with his passion for innovation and precision.
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Fabrizio Conicella
Fabrizio Conicella leads a team at Iveco Group that is responsible for developing digital products and services across the Group’s diverse business units and functions. The customer-centric AI-based solutions are instrumental in improving vehicle safety and productivity. Fabrizio is also steering the Group’s software transformation journey, paving the way to the Software-Defined Vehicle.
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Franz Leitner
Franz Leitner holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Graz. He began his career at AVL List in 2000 as a Development Engineer, serving in that role until 2003. From 2004 to 2007, he worked as a Project Manager. Between 2008 and 2012, he was Director of Sales for China. From 2013 to 2018, he served as Managing Director for LATAM. From 2019 to 2021, he was Director of Project Operations and a Member of the Management Board in Germany. Since 2021, he has been Director of Powertrain Engineering in Italy.
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Session 2 / 11.30 – 13.10
Future Trends on Vehicle Subsystems and Control
Francesco Monti
Francesco has been the CEO of Podium-Tech since 2019. He leads all electric projects as well as all related R&D programs. Before joining the company as a partner in 2012, he has been part of the Hybrid Powertrain R&D group of McLaren Automotive UK. Francesco holds a MSc degree in Automotive Engineering and a PhD in Mechatronics from Politecnico di Torino.
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Ilario Gerlero
Expert in the integration of AI based methods with model-based design approaches, to support product innovation in mobility sector. Ilario has about 20 years’ experience in innovative engineering consultancy for automotive OEMs and Tier-1s in several sectors, form passenger cars to motorsport.
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Gorazd Gotovac
Dr. Gorazd Gotovac is CEO of Elaphe Propulsion Technologies. Previously serving as CTO since 2010, he has led the development of in-wheel motor and software-defined vehicle motion technologies. Trained in mathematical physics and holding a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ljubljana, he was named a “Rising Star of the Automotive Industry” by Automotive news Europe in 2018.
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Rahul Sagar Plavullathil
Currently Director of Engineering at FPT, Iveco Group. Previous CTO of Marelli e-Axle business unit Worked for Magna Powertrain for 13 years in Germany, USA and Mexico. Spent 18 years+ in powertrain development across the globe.
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Session 3 / 14.30 – 16.10
Electric and electronic technologies for electrification
Florin Udrea
Florin Udrea is a professor in semiconductor Engineering at University of Cambridge and the CTO and the co-founder of Cambridge GaN Devices Ltd and. He has worked on power devices for over three decades with specific research on wide bandgap materials since 1997. He has published over 600 papers and is an inventor of 400+ patents in power semiconductors and sensors.
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Riccardo Breda
He received the M.S. degree in electronic engineering in 2021 and the PhD degree from the University of Udine in 2025, while carrying out research at PEMD Lab. From 2023 to 2024, he was a Visiting Scholar at WEMPEC. He is one of the first recipients of the IEEE PELS Graduate Studies Fellowship and the John G. Kassakian Fellowship. In 2025, he joined Plexim GmbH as a power electronics engineer.
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Lorenzo D’Ancona
More than 15 years of experience in Stellantis, Alstom, Ferrari always in the electrical/electronic R&D departments, from technical-focused roles to management ones, leading projects and people. Currently leading the R&D team based in Borgaro of the Power Modules product divisions of Vishay.
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