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Team

Automotive. Technology. Strategy. Relationships. Capital Markets.

Over 110 Years of Combined Experience

Steve Girsky

In addition to serving on GM’s board, Girsky was GM Vice Chairman from March 2010 through January 2014. During that time he was responsible for several functional areas, including:

  • Global corporate strategy,

  • New business development,

  • Global product planning and program management,

  • Global connected customer/OnStar, and

  • GM Ventures LLC and global research & development.

Girsky also served as Chairman of the Adam Opel AG Supervisory Board and as interim President of GM Europe during this time frame, a critical period in which the company established its current ‘Drive Opel 2022’ strategy. Girsky also held responsibility for GM’s Global Purchasing and Supply Chain function from 2011 to 2013, and served as Senior Advisor to General Motors from January 2014 to July 2014.

“The GM that exists today is a much different and stronger company than it was when I first joined the Board seven years ago,” said Girsky. “There have been many milestones and accomplishments that I’ve been proud to be a part of along the way, including GM’s emergence from bankruptcy, improved UAW relationship, and the continued comeback of the European business. Also, the speed in which GM is actively positioning itself to capitalize on the innovations that are shaping the future of personal mobility – specifically in the areas of electrification, 4G connectivity and autonomous – is a testament to its strong leadership team.”

Girsky is currently President of S.J. Girsky & Co., a role he returned to in July 2014. The independent advisory firm is based in New York, where Girsky applies his more than 25 years of experience working with senior corporate and board executives, labor leaders, OEM leaders, suppliers and dealers, and national and local policy makers. 

Mary Chan

n our Board," said Rich Beyer, Chairman of the Board, Dialog Semiconductor. "Her particular insight into the ways connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT) are driving change across multiple industries by enabling the delivery of cloud-based services on connected mobile platforms will be especially valuable."

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Ms. Chan's career has spanned executive leadership roles at some of the world's most successful international firms, including AT&T, Alcatel Lucent, Dell Inc. and General Motors Corporation (GM). Most recently at GM, Ms. Chan served between 2012 and 2015 as President, Global Connected Consumers & OnStar Service USA. In this role, Ms. Chan headed the organization responsible for the development of GM's Global infotainment product and launching 4G LTE connectivity across GM's global vehicle brands, successfully implementing new business models to improve the connected car and infotainment experience. At Dell, between 2009 and 2012, Ms. Chan led the company's Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Services business in the USA. Prior to this, at Alcatel-Lucent, Ms. Chan served as Executive Vice President of the company's US 4G LTE Wireless Networks business.

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Ms. Chan currently serves as an Independent Director on the Board of SBA Communications Corporation, a leading operator and owner of wireless communications infrastructure across North, Central and South America. In addition, Ms. Chan is also currently the Managing Partner at VectoIQ which serves a number of companies in the area of smart transportation. Previously she also served on the Boards of the Mobile Marketing Association and CTIA - The Wireless Association. She holds both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University.

Sarah Hallac

Sarah Hallac is a retired investment banker from Bear, Stearns and Company where she spent her entire career in the Financial Analytics and Structured Transaction group. She was involved in the early days of the mortgage securitization including the first Agency Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC) issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA). Ms. Hallac has been published in several books including The Handbook of Mortgage-Backed Securities.

Norrie Hirakata, CFA

MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION                                                                             Tokyo, Japan

Team Leader of Alliance Strategy Division                                                                    June 2012 – Present

  • Project leader for Nissan and Mitsubishi motors alliance strategy development with direct report to CEO

  • Activated Nissan and Mitsubishi motors strategic alliance agreement and settled over 20 days

  • Business planning: leading role in developing medium-term product and technology plan along with alliance strategy

 

NEXON CO., LTD                                                                                                                    Tokyo, Japan

Head of Investor Relations                                                                                     October 2011 – May 2012

  • Joined the firm as a capital market professional to play a key role for the firm’s IPO

  • This IPO was the largest deal in 2011(market capitalization: YEN 600 billion)

 

MORGAN STANLEY MUFG SECURITIES                                                                           Tokyo, Japan

Managing Director, equity analyst in automotive sector                                 August 1995 - September 2011

  • Top rated analyst since 2008 in broker evaluation among about 20 research analyst at Morgan Stanley Japan

  • Developed strong and broad client base globally, including Point72, Fidelity Investments, JP Morgan Asset, Capital Research,  Nomura Asset and others

  • Consistently earned votes from both fund managers and buy-side analysts 

  • Built a strong research team in automotive sector in Japan, with two key fellow analysts , Mr. Kakiuchi and Mr. Hoshino who cover auto-parts sectors and smaller automotive companies.

  • Led global auto team from 2004 to 2009, facilitating global collaborations including key stock recommendations on global basis.  Also intensively educated junior analysts in the U.S. (Mr. Adam Jonas) and India (Mr. Binay Singh)

  • Developed exclusive and superior relationship with most automotive companies’ management, including

  • Hosted Bridgestone conference call for global investors to present tire quality concern in 2001

  • Exclusive visit to Toyota USA at the midst recall issue in Mar. 2010

  • Mr. Shiga of Nissan presented JAMA Japan recovery plan at MS right after Tohoku earth quake in  2011

 

  • Awards

  • 2010 STARMINE ANALYST AWARD: No1. Earnings estimator

  • Runners-up at 2011 II All Japan Research ranking

  • 5th ranked at 2010 “Nikkei VERITAS” analyst ranking.

 

KLEINWORT-BENSON SECURITIES                                                                                  Tokyo, Japan

Research Sales, Asian and European markets                                                        October 1994 – July 1995

 

YASUDA MUTUAL LIFE                                                                                                        Tokyo, Japan

Analyst and Fund manager at Institutional Investment division                         April 1986 - September 1994

                                     

WASEDA UNIVERSITY                                                                                                          Tokyo, Japan

B.A. in Economics                                                                                                          Apr 1982 - Mar 1986

Kent Lucas

Kent joined VectoIQ with over 20 years of financial markets and global equtiy investing experience, largely focused on the automotive industry.  Early in his career, he was Research Analyst and Vice President at Capital Research & Management Company where he personally managed over $1 billion in automotive and industrial public equity assets.  Just prior to joining VectoIQ he was Founding Partner and Portfolio Manager for Culmen Capital Management LLC, a New York based investment firm specializing in global automotive, industrial and industrial technology related companies. 

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Prior to Culmen Capital, Kent had a brief stint as Director of Equity Research at XP Investimentos CCTVM, Brazil’s largest independent broker dealer, in their São Paulo office.  He led the development and launch of the firm’s fundamental equity research product. 

 

He started his career at Citibank N.A. as a Corporate Trust Officer and then as an Associate in Citicorp Securities’ Municipal Finance group.  

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Kent holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business where he was a Corporate Executive Fellow.

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