Kelly Rickert is a Senior Manager of Business Development at Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America with 19 years of experience in the automotive industry. Kelly’s experience has covered a broad spectrum of focus from dealership repair technician, tier-1 engineering, as well as sales and business development. Over his career, Kelly has worked in a wide range of organizations from small start-up companies to large Fortune 500’s.

The Pop in Your Job:
I have always been fascinated with automobiles and technology since a very young age. Being able to work on the future of automotive technology in this ever-changing industry is what excites me most about my job.

Joe (Giuseppe) Cannella has comprehensive work experience spanning various roles and companies. Joe started their career at Ford in 1988 as a Process Engineer and went on to work in different positions such as Preventive Maintenance Engineer, OAP PVT Resident Engineer, and Systems Engineer - Climate. In 2000, they joined General Motors as a DRE and remained there until 2004. From 2003 to 2012, they worked at Visteon Corporation, holding roles such as Account Manager and Business Unit Manager. Currently, Joe is at Global Steering Systems, LLC., where they have held roles as the NA Sales Director and have been currently the Global Sales Director since 2019.

Maureen (Short) August is a Lab Group Manager at General Motors Research and Development. She has a background in the military, having graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served as an Engineer Officer in the U.S. Army. She later worked as a Senior Systems Engineer and Director of Curriculum for the Army's Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness Program.
At General Motors, Maureen has held various roles, including being a human factors expert in Safety, a capture manager for GM Defense, and currently, she focuses on information display and simulation. She holds advanced degrees, including an MS in Engineering Management from Missouri S&T, an ME in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia, and a PhD in Systems and Engineering Management from Texas Tech University.

The Pop in Your Job
I love having an impact on people’s lives. The ability to improve the safety, trust, and comfort for our customers is something that drives our work at GM. Working with smart people who are passionate about making our customers’ lives better is our driving force.