OPEN Alliance has appointed General Motors’ Pramod Kumar as its new president as it continues to lead the charge on building globally-adoptable open specifications for Ethernet-based communications in the automotive industry.
Kumar has more than 20 years’ experience across a range of technologies and has been developing specifications for automotive Ethernet since 2016. In the new role, he will continue to drive the organization forward and help attract more Original Electronics Manufacturers (OEMs) into the fold. OPEN Alliance continues to identify and address gaps related to Ethernet-based communications for exciting customer functions, such as autonomous driving and the connected car.
“I am delighted to have been appointed President of the OPEN Alliance,” said General Motors Global Technical Specialist Pramod Kumar. “We are establishing automotive Ethernet as a universal, non-proprietary solution that meets the needs of all equipment manufacturers within the industry. Collaboration and shared learning are pivotal to this and we will continue working with OEMs to address their challenges effectively and ensure interoperability of all available automotive Ethernet products in the market.”
“The OPEN Alliance is uniquely placed to push new technologies and foster innovation. We resolve conflicts of interest and achieve consensus from our membership based on technical feasibility and pragmatic solutions to real-world problems encountered by all our engineering teams,” Kumar continued.
Kumar takes over from BMW’s Vehicle Cybersecurity Specialist Oliver Creighton as the new president for a two-year term. During Creighton’s two-year tenure, OPEN Alliance enjoyed continued growth and liaised with other industry organizations to bring proven Ethernet solutions to in-vehicle systems. The technical committees now deliver greater security, remote control, and software management in Ethernet technology, with specifications developed and refined for use by OEMs in the long-term.
The new president appointment comes shortly after the OPEN Alliance’s acquisition of NAV Alliance, which has brought together leading automotive companies to define, build, and test specifications to deliver on the growing needs of drivers.
NAV Alliance was established to accelerate the adoption of multi-gigabit Ethernet, while also building an ecosystem of manufacturers to come together and provide a consensus for the industry to adhere to. Automotive Ethernet will give drivers the high bandwidth and low latency needed for autonomous driving, infotainment systems and high-resolution cameras.
“The acquisition of NAV Alliance is a significant step forward in solidifying Automotive Ethernet as the networking technology for the future needs of the car,” said NAV Alliance President Amir Bar-Niv. “The development of open specifications and standards will see the effective roll out of next-generation applications from Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) to autonomous driving.”
