The 9th annual South Carolina Automotive Summit will be held on February 26-28 at the Hyatt Regency in Greenville.
Presented by KPMG and hosted by the South Carolina Automotive Council, the summit kicks off with a B2B Supplier Matchmaker Event at 9 a.m. on February 26 and ends with a meet and greet reception at 4:45 p.m.
On Thursday, the summit begins with opening remarks from Sara Hazzard, president and CEO of the SC Manufacturers Alliance, and Amy Tinsley, executive director of the SC Automotive Council at 8:30 a.m.
Throughout the morning attendees will hear from industry experts including Simon Kew, senior vice president of strategy and operations for Magna Seating, Magna International; Tamara Snow, head of research and advanced engineering for Continental N.A.; Gary Silberg, partner and a National Automotive Section Industry leader for KPMG; Lisa Errion Saums, vice president of government and external affairs for the Americas region for BMW Group and Robert Hitt III, South Carolina’s secretary of commerce.
On Thursday afternoon, a discussion on trends in trade and customs will be held with moderator George Zaharatos, a principal and Southeast Area leader on tax, trade and customs with KPMG LLP. Sitting as a panelist for the discussion is Mike Davidson, executive vice president and chief operating officer of JTEKT North America.
An update will be given by Sven Beiker, founder and managing director of Silicon Valley Mobility, on the future of mobility. This will be followed by an apprenticeship panel on South Carolina’s approach to workforce development, presented by Lt. Gov.Pamela Evette. An apprenticeship panel will be moderated by Amy Firestone, vice president of Apprenticeship Carolina.
An economic development panel with an all-female cast will be moderated by Margaret O’Riley, who leads economic development for Duke Energy. Panelists will include Didi Caldwell, a site location consultant for Global Location Strategies; Morgan Crapps, who works in site selection and economic development for Parker Poe; and Alexandra Segers, an international site selection consultant.
Rounding out the afternoon is Marcel Schafer, senior research scientist for Fraunhofer USA, Center for Experimental Software Engineering, who will discuss turning researching into products at the pace of business. Also, an update about Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research will be given.
On Friday, the summit begins at 8:30 a.m. with an industry forecast by Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting for LMC Automotive, followed by a trade and policy update from Pete Mento, managing director of global customs and duties at Crowe LLP. Mid-morning Jim Newsome, president and CEO of South Carolina Ports Authority, will give an update on the ports, followed by Jody Bryson, president and CEO of South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center, who will give an update on South Carolina’s automotive sector.
Closing out the summit will be Joe Semsar, acting undersecretary of commerce for international trade with the Office of Undersecretary, who will give an update on the U.S. Department of Commerce, followed by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, presenting an update on the state.
For more information or to register for the summit, click here.
