ADVISORY
BOARD

LAWRENCE BURNS

Larry is a Professor of Engineering Practice at the University of Michigan, a Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Hess Corporation, a consultant to Google Inc., and an advisor to several investment firms. From January 2010 to June 2013, he was also the Director of the Program for Sustainable Mobility at Columbia University. Larry served as General Motors’ Corporate Vice President of Research & Development and Planning/Strategic Planning from 1998 to 2009. At GM he was a member of corporate decision boards for global operations and products and was responsible for advanced technology development, product portfolio planning, capacity planning and strategic planning.

Burns is a leading advocate for design and technology innovation focused on the total customer experience, and he has long served as a major voice for the “reinvention of the automobile” and the diversification of transportation energy. He has championed vehicle electrification, “connected & driverless” vehicles, fuel cells, advanced batteries, bio-fuels and innovative concept vehicles. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and has made over 500 keynote, conference and media presentations since 1998. Larry is co-author of Reinventing the Automobile: Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st Century (MIT Press, January, 2010).

Larry holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from University of California, Berkeley; a Master of Science degree in Engineering / Public Policy from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University).