CarApp World LA
May 27, 2026
| 8:15 AM |
Registration |
| 8:30 AM |
Welcome Breakfast |
| 9:30 AM |
The In-Car App Economy: Entering the Scale Phase
Joo-Hyung Maing
Lead Product Manager, Innovations & Partnerships
Joo-Hyung Maing
Lead Product Manager, Innovations & Partnerships
About the Speaker
Joo-Hyung Maing is Lead Product Manager, Innovations & Partnerships at the BMW of North America's Technology Office.
Alex Boundy
Product Manager, Infotainment Software + Connected Services
Alex Boundy
Product Manager, Infotainment Software + Connected Services
About the Speaker
Alex Boundy is Product Manager of Infotainment Software + Connected Services at Scout Motors.
Mélanie d’Achon
Strategic Partnerships Development Manager
Mélanie d’Achon
Strategic Partnerships Development Manager
About the Speaker
Mélanie leads Product Partnerships at Waymo, focusing on the next frontier of mobility: the autonomous in-car experience. By bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and passenger-centric design, Mélanie orchestrates strategic collaborations that transform Waymo vehicles into seamless third spaces. With a background spanning Google’s custom silicon (Pixel) and Ads business development, she brings a unique perspective on integrating complex hardware and software ecosystems. Mélanie holds an MA from the London School of Economics and a BA from McGill University.
David Bloom
Sr. Contributor, Forbes & Co-Founder, Next TMT - MODERATOR
David Bloom
Sr. Contributor, Forbes & Co-Founder, Next TMT - MODERATOR
About the Speaker
David Bloom is a Santa Monica, Calif.-based writer, podcaster, speaker and consultant focused on the transformative collision of technology, media and entertainment. Bloom is co-founder of newsletter Next TMT, co-host of podcast Next TMT Talks, CEO of Words & Deeds Media, and a Forbes senior contributor. He consults on content and communications strategy, has taught digital media at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, is a former Associate Dean at the USC Marshall School of Business, and guest lectures regularly at schools including UCLA, USC, Boston University, Syracuse, Nebraska, California State University-Northridge, Pepperdine, and Chapman. Bloom previously was an award-winning staff writer and editor for Variety, Deadline, Red Herring, and the Los Angeles Daily News, and was VP of corporate communications at MGM and head of communications with the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. Bloom graduated with honors from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. |
| 10:10 AM |
Keynote Presentation |
| 10:30 AM |
Networking Coffee Break |
| 11:00 AM |
Design that Moves: UX/UI Principles for the Road
Sebastian Bauer
Executive Director, Head of Human Interface Design & Customer Experience
Sebastian Bauer
Executive Director, Head of Human Interface Design & Customer Experience
About the Speaker
Sebastian Bauer is Executive Director, Head of Human Interface Design & Customer Experience at General Motors.
Nicole Johnson
User Experience Manager
Nicole Johnson
User Experience Manager
About the Speaker
Nicole Johnson is User Experience Manager at Scout Motors
Gabriel Bridger
SVP, Global Head of Experience, Design & Strategy
Gabriel Bridger
SVP, Global Head of Experience, Design & Strategy
About the Speaker
Gabriel Bridger is an award-winning design, product, and strategy executive with over 20 years shaping experiences that bridge physical and digital systems. As SVP and Global Head of Product, Design, and Strategy at Rightpoint, he leads a large multidisciplinary, global organization spanning product management, UX, design, research, strategy, and analytics. Gabriel has led the design and launch of experiences ranging from in-vehicle and connected systems to commerce and financial services, and most recently agentic design architectures, with a focus on turning highly complex environments into intuitive experiences that feel inevitable to end users. Guided by a simple mantra to be curious, critical, and creative, Gabriel balances innovation with real-world impact. Beyond his day-to-day work, he writes and speaks on the future of experience, mentors emerging design leaders, and advocates for diversity of thought as a catalyst for better ideas and better outcomes. |
| 11:40 AM |
In-Vehicle Infotainment: Platforms, Trends & Strategic Shifts
Keefe Leung
Director, Software Defined Systems Architecture
Keefe Leung
Director, Software Defined Systems Architecture
About the Speaker
Keefe Leung is the Director of Software Defined Systems Architecture at Karma Automotive.
Matthew Valbuena
Project Manager, In-Vehicle Technologies & Human Machine Interfaces
Matthew Valbuena
Project Manager, In-Vehicle Technologies & Human Machine Interfaces
About the Speaker
Matthew Valbuena is a Project Manager at Mazda North American Operations' R&D division and is responsible for the development of Mazda's in-vehicle technologies and the human-machine interfaces that interact with those technologies. His scope of work includes software and hardware research and development, product planning, consumer and industry research, forecasting, and finalizing Mazda’s in-vehicle technology user experience for North America.
Stephen Goldstein
Head of Business Development & Partnerships, Automotive, v/MVPDs, Hospitality TV & NEXTGEN TV
Stephen Goldstein
Head of Business Development & Partnerships, Automotive, v/MVPDs, Hospitality TV & NEXTGEN TV
About the Speaker
Stephen Goldstein is LG’s Head of Content Business Development & Partnerships for Automotive, Hospitality, Shopping, Art, v/MVPDs & NEXTGEN TV. He’s based in the LG’s North American headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Before joining LG, Stephen led BD at Cirrent, a connected product, and data analytics provider, now an Infineon company, advised geolocation, last-mile logistics, retail tech, IoT, and property tech founders and startups. He also spent fourteen years at Samsung Electronics, running Smart Home Business Development & Partnerships and the Pay TV / broadband devices business. At Samsung, he collaborated with retailers, Pay TV operators, and ISPs to synthesize evolving product and technology standards, use cases, and policies to help deploy millions of Set-tops and gateways. Stephen holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife live in New Jersey with their two sons. The Pop in Your Job: (why do you love what you do?): Bringing content and services to millions of screens globally. |
| 12:20 PM |
Vehicle Data and In-Car Intelligence
Jeremy Agulnek
Chief Product Officer & SVP Connected Vehicle
Jeremy Agulnek
Chief Product Officer & SVP Connected Vehicle
About the Speaker
Jeremy Agulnek, HAAS Alert's Chief Product Officer and SVP Connected Vehicle, is responsible for helping automotive OEMs deliver a safer, more connected driving experience to their drivers and driving systems. In 2025, Jeremy was named the Safety Innovation All-Star by Automotive News. Prior to joining HAAS Alert, Jeremy held a variety of product management and strategy positions at HERE Technologies (then NAVTEQ), where he launched and expanded a number of location-based products and services globally. Jeremy holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Cristina Nutter
Sr. Business Development Manager, Automotive & Connected Devices
Cristina Nutter
Sr. Business Development Manager, Automotive & Connected Devices
About the Speaker
Cristina Nutter is Senior Business Development Manager for Automotive & Connected Devices at AccuWeather, where she leads partnerships with enterprise clients like Databricks, Snowflake and major automotive OEMs.
Suzanne Murtha
Global Lead, Advanced Air Mobility, Payment Services and Automation - MODERATOR
Suzanne Murtha
Global Lead, Advanced Air Mobility, Payment Services and Automation - MODERATOR
About the Speaker
Suzanne Murtha is AECOM’s Global Lead for Advanced Air Mobility, Payment Services and Automation. She is based in Punta Gorda, Florida and is on the Board of Directors of AUVSI, a leading organization in the development of automated systems. A 29-year veteran of the transportation industry, Suzanne has background in advanced automotive technologies including connected and automated vehicles, payment systems and advanced air mobility. She works with the international transportation community with deployment, standards development and certification processes. She leads global technology deployment, as well as large-scale program management contracts and evaluation efforts for global, federal, state, local and private clients. |
| 1:00 PM |
Lunch & Networking |
| 2:00 PM |
Navigation, Maps and the Rise of In-Car Advertising |
| 2:40 PM |
Keynote Presentation |
| 3:00 PM |
In-Vehicle Payments: the Car as a Commerce Hub |
| 3:40 PM |
Voice, Gesture and AI Assistants Behind the Wheel
Shormin Chowdhury
Sr. Manager, Global Cross Vehicle Systems & Software
Shormin Chowdhury
Sr. Manager, Global Cross Vehicle Systems & Software
About the Speaker
Shormin Chowdhury is a Ford Automotive Technical & Leadership expert in the auto electronics industry, with a special focus on Connected Car Modules and Future IVI / ADAS / Autonomous Vehicle Domain Controllers. Boasting over 20 years’ experience in Infotainment, Cockpit, ADAS and Electric Vehicle modules, Shormin has led global teams to deliver in-house built-to-print HW design and platforms resulting in cost saving of over $300 million, as well as best-in-class quality. |
| 4:20 PM |
From Early Adopters to Mass Market In-Car Apps |
| 5:00 PM |
Closing Coffee |
Registration
May 27, 2026, 8.15 AM - 8.30 AM
Welcome Breakfast
May 27, 2026, 8.30 AM - 9.30 AM
Welcome Breakfast
The In-Car App Economy: Entering the Scale Phase
May 27, 2026, 9.30 AM - 10.10 AM
Keynote Presentation
May 27, 2026, 10.10 AM - 10.30 AM
Keynote Presentation
Networking Coffee Break
May 27, 2026, 10.30 AM - 11.00 AM
Networking Coffee Break
Design that Moves: UX/UI Principles for the Road
May 27, 2026, 11.00 AM - 11.40 AM
Designing for the car isn’t mobile design with a twist — it’s a fundamentally different discipline built around safety, visibility, multimodality and cognitive load. This hands-on session shows how the best teams design beautiful, glance-efficient, sunlight-proof interfaces that keep drivers focused and passengers delighted. A must-attend for anyone shaping the next generation of automotive UX.
In-Vehicle Infotainment: Platforms, Trends & Strategic Shifts
May 27, 2026, 11.40 AM - 12.20 PM
The U.S. infotainment landscape is entering a period of rapid structural change. OEM-native operating systems, Android Automotive deployments, projected environments and over-the-air updates are redefining how in-car platforms are architected, controlled and evolved. This session examines the strategic shifts reshaping the dashboard — from embedded vs. projected platform models and OS ownership to feature velocity, display evolution and long-term control of the customer relationship.
Head of Business Development & Partnerships, Automotive, v/MVPDs, Hospitality TV & NEXTGEN TV
Vehicle Data and In-Car Intelligence
May 27, 2026, 12.20 PM - 1.00 PM
The car is becoming one of the richest real-time data environments in consumer technology. This session demystifies how telemetry, driving context and mobility signals can safely power next-generation app features, personalised content and privacy-compliant audience intelligence. If you want to understand what data is actually accessible — and what developers can legally do with it — don’t miss this one.
Lunch & Networking
May 27, 2026, 1.00 PM - 2.00 PM
Lunch & Networking
Navigation, Maps and the Rise of In-Car Advertising
May 27, 2026, 2.00 PM - 2.40 PM
As connected vehicles scale, drivers are becoming a new premium audience shaped by real-time context — route, destination, dwell time and mobility behavior. This session explores how navigation platforms, OEM data systems, Google Maps, Waze and emerging automotive media stacks are enabling privacy-safe, contextual advertising inside and around the vehicle. From EV charging and fuel offers to retail media integration, we examine how brands can engage drivers without compromising safety or trust — and what it will take for in-car advertising to scale as a true media channel.
Keynote Presentation
May 27, 2026, 2.40 PM - 3.00 PM
Keynote Presentation
In-Vehicle Payments: the Car as a Commerce Hub
May 27, 2026, 3.00 PM - 3.40 PM
Cars are rapidly evolving into connected wallets — enabling drivers to pay for tolls, parking, EV charging, refueling, reservations and even shopping without leaving the vehicle. As OEMs move from simple payment enablement to building full-fledged transactional ecosystems, new revenue models and marketplace dynamics are emerging inside the dashboard. With strong consumer interest in seamless, secure payment experiences and OEM–fintech collaborations embedding tokenized wallets directly into infotainment systems, this session explores how in-vehicle payments are reshaping mobility friction, commercial power structures, and user expectations. A timely look at monetization models, platform partnerships, security layers and where embedded commerce goes next.
Voice, Gesture and AI Assistants Behind the Wheel
May 27, 2026, 3.40 PM - 4.20 PM
Interaction is moving beyond screens. With AI copilots, advanced voice recognition and emerging gesture interfaces, the cockpit is becoming a multimodal environment that blends assistance, safety and automation. This panel explores the fast-shifting frontier where LLMs meet automotive HMI — and how designers can craft experiences that feel magical without overwhelming the driver.
From Early Adopters to Mass Market In-Car Apps
May 27, 2026, 4.20 PM - 5.00 PM
The in-car app ecosystem is moving beyond pilots, demos and early adopters — and toward its first true mass-market moment. This closing panel examines when and how in-car apps become a daily habit for millions of drivers and passengers, which categories are poised to scale, and where automotive realities still clash with consumer expectations shaped by mobile and smart TVs. Drawing on lessons from other platform shifts, this session offers a clear-eyed view of what will actually drive mainstream adoption — and what won’t — as the in-car app economy enters its defining phase.
Closing Coffee
May 27, 2026, 5.00 PM - 5.30 PM
Closing Coffee
