The three of you first connected with AVL in various ways,
but what led to your decision to join the company?
Manvel: I was working for Chrysler while in Graz and
eventually ended up being introduced to Helmut List. I got to
know both him and AVL — very people-oriented and always at
the cutting edge of technology.
Strelow: I heard really positive feedback. Not only was it a
great place to work, but the products were good, and it was
run with a moral compass.
Tarnutzer: Right, the opportunity to work for a company that
values people — I think we do that well — and, as Don said,
a company that wants to drive the future of mobility while
valuing the people that help make that happen.
How did you think AVL was positioned in the industry — or
what value did you think AVL brought to the automotive
industry?
Manvel: I’ve been with the company for over 20 years now.
AVL was new to the American market at that time, particularly
the engineering side. I really felt that US OEMs (especially)
needed our advanced technology.
Strelow: When I started, AVL’s main focus was on ground
vehicles still. I love the auto industry — my father was an auto
mechanic, I grew up around cars. And I saw there was a huge
opportunity to make cars more efficient and cleaner, and
things were just beginning to happen with electric cars.
That was the early 2010s … and then electrification really
started to take off. Did you expect it to happen so quickly?
Tarnutzer: Electrification came onto the scene faster than I
had ever imagined it would in the US. When I joined, there was
still a heavy emphasis on the traditional ICE, but it was clear
for AVL and the future of mobility that we needed to think
about more than just the propulsion system in the vehicle.
Manvel: The speed at which the industry changed direction
really surprised me.
Strelow: And within about three years of me joining AVL,
conversations with startups started happening, and then it
became all about startups, particularly in the electric segment
… but not exclusively, there were also discussions about fuel
cells. I thought I might see two or three new car companies
during the remainder of my career. And then we had to laugh,
because I think we alone had already been involved with FIVE.
How does this transition to the future? Where do you see
AVL excelling in the next decade?
Manvel: I think electrification really helps drive the next gener-
ation of software-defined vehicles. We have the people and the
expertise to continue leading the industry and keep pushing
the boundaries for the future of mobility upwards.
Interview with Don Manvel, Chairman
& CEO, AVL Americas; Joe Strelow,
President, AVL Test Systems, Inc. and
Stephan Tarnutzer, President, AVL
Mobility Technologies, Inc.
AVL North America
on the Rapid Shift
to Electrification
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