Why We’re Launching the Automotive Intelligence Summit
Everyone knows the old maxim, “Knowledge is power.” It’s true. But knowledge requires understanding to be effective.
The concept for the Automotive Intelligence Summit initially sprang to mind one day as I scanned the attendee lists for a number of recent conferences we had produced and attended.
I noticed that there were a lot of new, never before seen titles for executives that were attending the events: VP of Data Analytics, Business Intelligence Manager, Director of Predictive Analytics, VP of Fintech, EVP of Innovation, Global Head of Fintech, Director of Innovation Labs — the list went on and on. Add to that my very humble understanding of industry terms like connected mobility, blockchain, autonomous vehicles and others that were dominating the conversations at these events. It occurred to me that the automotive and auto-finance industries are in the midst of dramatic change — rapid, constant, kinetic change that will require a significant shift in mindset and skill set for those with careers in these industries.
While we take a great deal of pride in the work we do to provide great content at all of our events, it became clear to me that an event with an emphasis on sharing information and business intelligence on these subjects and more would be valuable to those at the highest levels of auto and auto-finance businesses across North America. The idea that, in a world where we communicate so frequently through digital channels, we could involve, inspire and provide increasing levels of intelligence to our core audience and beyond became AIS.
We selected an area close to our corporate headquarters on the borders of the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina to host this inaugural event with the hopes of sharing new, disruptive and business-building technologies, information and data. And to do so on a human level — person-to-person, building companies and, even more critically, building relationships.
As daunting as the topic of machine learning may be to me, it’s the passion of others who not only have a grasp, but a deep understanding and vision of what all this constant innovation can do for businesses in automotive and auto finance. We’ve worked to provide the highest level of content, learning and intelligence to be shared with executives in the industry. We’ve worked to create an environment well-suited for those with a desire to learn to engage with these topics. We’ve worked to provide a forum where you can broaden your horizons, meet new people, learn new and exciting things and put you and your company in a better position to succeed in this fast-paced environment.
We’ll offer content for executives at the OEM and C-suite level, for auto finance and fintech companies, and for dealership executives who are interested in taking their businesses to the next level of success.
To wrap things up, let me leave you with this: At this year’s JD Power Automotive Summit, I heard CarStory President & CPO Chad Bockius state, “This industry has been inundated with data, when what we need is answers.” With AIS, we aim to provide you with more information, of course, but we also want to provide you with the right answers to all of your questions. That’s why we’re holding the Automotive Intelligence Summit — to turn all that raw data that’s swamped the industry into useful, actionable knowledge.
Please consider this a personal invitation to come join us.
I look forward to seeing you soon, and I’m sure it will a very interesting few days.
Bill Zadeits
Group Publisher
Cherokee Media Group