Automotive News Canada - July 2021 - 16

16
* JULY 2021
The power for
a 'megabattery'
factory
SOROUSH NAZARPOUR
CEO, NanoXplore Inc.
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
Soroush Nazarpour, 36, leads
NanoXplore Inc., a Quebec-based
supplier of a substance - graphene
powder - that could make electric
vehicles more efficient and lead to
their mass adoption. Despite being
incredibly thin, graphene is stronger
than steel and
more conductive
than copper, and
it will not break
down at high
temperatures.
Those properties
could
make it an
ideal material
for EV batteries,
helping
reduce charging times and allowing
EVs to go farther on a charge -
addressing two key areas of concern
among Canadian consumers.
This year, NanoXplore formed
a joint venture with Ontario supplier
Martinrea International
Inc. to prove graphene's potential
for EV batteries. If the JV,
dubbed VoltaXplore, is successful,
Martinrea and NanoXplore have signaled
interest in opening Canada's
first " megabattery factory. "

IN HIS OWN WORDS:
" There are a lot of good technologies
out there, but they are
either not scalable or they're
expensive and people really
don't use them. Graphene is
something that can actually
change the way people live. It
impacts multiple industries.
It's a very strategic material.
And for us, the mission was to
make it accessible to pretty much
everybody. Let's bring the price
down and bring the volume
to scale. "
Rolls exec plays a new role for
a brand looking for separation
MATTHEW WILSON
General Manager, Canada
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
Matthew Wilson, 43, started as RollsRoyce
Motor Cars' Canada-based general
manager in February, putting an
executive in charge of the Great White
North for the first time in the carmaker's
116-year history. It's a significant
step for a company that typically sells a
bit more than 100 ultraluxury cars a year
in Canada. Rolls-Royce sells 3,000 to 5,000
vehicles a year, globally.
Why the change? It was time for
the brand to carve out an identity in
Canada separate from that of the United
States. For Wilson - who previously
was national manager of product planning
for the Canadian operations of
Rolls-Royce's parent, BMW - the move
requires rethinking how to run a car
company.
Catering to clients who demand a
bespoke car that is uniquely theirs - and
pay as much as a 40 per cent premium
over the suggested retail price - requires
a single-minded focus on the relationship
and the understanding of what the
client wants, and then seeing that vision
through to completion with the factory in
Goodwood, England, Wilson said.

IN HIS OWN WORDS:
" As soon as I saw this [job], I knew it
was the right opportunity for me. This
was the biggest shift, not like anything
I expected. I feel like I've left the industry,
left the group, because the business
model is so different. "
Her incentive strategy:
Making women matter
JESSICA TODDSenior Manager, Incentives
Strategy
Hyundai Auto Canada Corp.
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
For Jessica Todd, two key
accomplishments are a source
of immense pride. Since being
promoted to senior manager
of incentives strategy in 2018,
she has overseen a decrease in
Hyundai's incentives spending
by almost 50 per cent. She also
set a personal goal two years
ago of making the automaker
a better place to work for
women. Together with a colleague,
she started a resource
group called Women at HACC
(Hyundai Auto Canada Corp.)
to raise awareness of the
challenges women face in
a male-dominated industry.
" There
have been
countless times in
a meeting where
I've been the only
woman in the
room, " said Todd,
35. " A lot of times,
I felt like my voice wasn't able
to be heard. I was just talked
over by the men at the table. "
The resource group has
hosted companywide gender-equity
conferences, given
talks at universities aimed at
persuading more women to
consider a career in the auto
industry, and encouraged
men to join their group as
allies. The result has been an
increase in the percentage of
women working at Hyundai
Canada to 35 per cent from 30
per cent. The company has
also been certified as a Great
Place to Work for Women
based on confidential employee
surveys, Todd said.

IN HER OWN WORDS:
" It doesn't matter
that you're
a woman in a
male-dominated
industry. You
have the ability
to do anything
a man can do
in this industry. "
Automotive News Canada - July 2021

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