Leadership Team
Reuben Munger - Chairman and CEO
Currently Chairman and CEO of Bright Automotive, Inc., Mr. Munger is a seasoned investment professional and Managing Partner ofVision Ridge Partners. Prior to founding Vision Ridge in 2008, Mr. Munger was a Managing Director at The BaupostGroup, L.L.C., a $20 billion investment firm. Mr. Munger's responsibilities included oversight of the firm's European equity investing and participation on the Trading Room Operations Committee.
In addition to his European experience, Mr. Munger was responsible for investments in telecommunications, media, shipping and other special situations in the United States, Canada and Asia. During his decade long tenure at Baupost, the firm grew from under $1 billion in assets under management to over $12 billion. Before joining Baupostin 1997, Mr. Munger was a consultant to Texas Pacific Group and an investment banker with James D. Wolfensohn, Inc.
Nigel Francis - Executive Vice President
Currently Executive Vice President of Bright Automotive, Inc., Mr. Francis has more than 25 years experience in the global engineering services industry. His career includes progressive experience in styling, design engineering and vehicle engineering at all levels-from component through systems to full vehicle. He has been actively involved with many global OEM's, system integrators and suppliers including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, GM, Ford, Chrysler, BAE Systems, Magna, Eaton and Continental.
His management experience with full vehicle integration includes body-in-white, power train, electrical/electronic, chassis, and full vehicle test. Mr. Francis also has art-to-part experience from studio-through-design engineering, and manufacturing engineering to the plant floor. He has been a visionary in the development and application of computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools for crash, occupant safety and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. In addition, he has led dimensional engineering projects related to vehicle quality and has expert knowledge of innovative techniques for holistic approaches to vehicle lightweighting.
In addition to technical skills, Mr. Francis has extensive general management experience at small-and medium-sized global automotive engineering firms. He has led major automotive programs and project teams, product innovation activities, strategic business development and strategic financing.
David K. Lauzun - Executive VP Vehicle Programs
Currently Executive Vice President of Vehicle Programs for Bright Automotive, Inc., Mr. Lauzun has 25 years of experience in executing large-scale automotive full vehicle products. His specific expertise lies in Vehicle Development, Program Management, and Quality Management for the automotive industry. In his current role, Mr. Lauzun is responsible for the entire product development process including the Vehicle Engineering and Product Design (styling) for Bright Automotive products and solutions. Along with extensive automotive experience, Mr. Lauzun brings a passion for the environmental and economic aspects of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) in providing whole-system solutions for the transportation sector and the planet.
Prior to Bright Automotive, Mr. Lauzun spent over 24 years at Chrysler, LLC where he held a variety of executive positions. His most recent position was Vehicle Development Manager for Chrysler's mid-size sedans. In this position, Mr. Lauzun was responsible for managing all aspects of the vehicle development including "Voice of the Customer", packaging, weight, vehicle performance, fuel economy, aerodynamics, quality, safety/impact and noise/vibration/harshness (NVH). In previous positions at Chrysler, Mr. Lauzun served as Program Manager for Chrysler's mid-size and full-size sedans (responsible for business aspects of five major vehicles), and Quality Manager for the Jeep team (responsible for driving large quality improvements in all Jeep products). Mr. Lauzun has also held leadership positions in several design groups including Chassis Systems, Interior Systems, and Body Systems.
Michael M. Brylawski - Executive VP Corporate Strategy
Currently Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy for Bright Automotive, Inc., Mr. Brylawski brings fifteen years of experience in green mobility as an entrepreneur, consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and published researcher. In 2007, he helped CEO John Waters create Bright Automotive, managing the original consortium of Google, Alcoa, and Johnson Controls and writing the first business plan. At Bright Automotive, Mr. Brylawski works with the Leadership Team on key market, technology, and financial strategy decisions. He is also responsible for developing ancillary growth opportunities including future product portfolios, telematics, energy storage, and grid services.
Previous to Bright Automotive, Mr. Brylawski's diverse work experience included roles as Vice President at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), where he is currently a Senior Fellow, and positions at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Boeing Aerospace. He was co-founder and Vice President at Hypercar, Inc. (now operating as Fiberforge), one of the first green automotive startups. Other work experience includes tenures at the Environmental Protection Agency's Future Studies Group and North Carolina's Advanced Energy Corporation.
David R. Crecelius - VP Powertrain Systems Engineering
Currently Vice President of Powertrain Systems Engineering for Bright Automotive, Inc., Mr. Crecelius is responsible for the design, development and implementation of vehicle powertrains, including the integration of internal combustion engines, electric drives, battery packs, and hybrid system controls.
Previously, Mr. Crecelius held the position of Vice President of Engineering for Sun Power Technologies, LLC a premium provider of advanced electrical solutions.
Prior to joining Sun Power Technologies, LLC, Mr. Crecelius was the Director of Systems Technology at Light Engineering, Inc. (LE), a company developing and manufacturing amorphous metal permanent magnet motors and generators.
Previous to his time at LE, Mr. Crecelius was the Director of Electrical Systems at iPower Technologies, Inc., a company providing systems integration for distributed power generation equipment. While at iPower, he was responsible for the development of permanent magnet generators and was the electrical systems architect for their 85kW combined heat and power (CHP) generator system.
Jeff J. Ronning - VP Hybrid Technology
Currently VP Hybrid Technology and thermal systems expert for Bright Automotive, Inc., Mr. Ronning has extensive experience in automotive systems development, thermal and fluid dynamics, and chemical modeling tools rooted in physical validation. Since 1995, Mr. Ronning has been a pioneer and an industry thought leader in plug-in hybrid architecture, research and design.
Before joining Bright Automotive, Mr. Ronning served as Senior Consultant at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), providing advanced systems engineering and design concept validation in multiple industries and market sectors. He provided technical direction for various clients to maximize vehicle efficiency and architecture selection. While at RMI, he developed design parameters for two unique PHEVs and performed research in "vehicle-to-grid" (V2G) systems. He also served on the energy and emissions working group for the Automotive X-Prize.
Louis Bailoni - VP Consulting
Currently Vice President of Consulting for Bright Automotive, Inc., Mr. Bailoni has over 25 years of broad automotive management consulting and research experience. His experience covers strategy development and execution, due diligence and operational improvement for OEMs, suppliers, financial institutions and government agencies.
Previously, Mr. Bailoni was Vice President of Ricardo Strategic Consulting where he helped to establish and grow the management consulting practice at Ricardo plc, a leading global automotive engineering consultancy. Strategy projects included advanced technology development and innovation, market entry, product strategy and acquisition due diligence. Mr. Bailoni authored reports and conference papers on cleantech and advanced propulsion technologies. Operational projects included warranty improvement, new product development effectiveness and efficiency, best practices benchmarking, sourcing strategy and product cost reduction. Mr. Bailoni's sector expertise has focused on commercial vehicles, off-highway and power generation.
Sean P. Conway - Director of Special Projects
Currently Director of Special Projects for Bright Automotive, Inc., Mr. Conway has 20 years of diverse experience in developing large-scale automotive products. His expertise covers the entire vehicle development cycle: styling, packaging, voice-of-customer development, engineering design, full vehicle testing, manufacturing, quality, marketing and public relations. In his current role, Mr. Conway is responsible for vehicle development activities for Bright Automotive products and services. Along with extensive automotive experience, Mr. Conway brings a passion for customer satisfaction and the positive environmental impact in all types of Plug-in Vehicles.
Prior to Bright Automotive, Mr. Conway spent over 18 years at Chrysler, LLC where he held a variety of leadership positions. His most recent position was the Vehicle Development Senior Manager for the Dodge Journey mid-size sport utility vehicle and Chrysler Sebring sedan and hard-top convertible. In this position, Mr. Conway was responsible for the domestic and international market launches and managed all aspects of the vehicle development.
John E. Waters - Vice Chairman
Currently Vice Chairmen of Bright Automotive, Inc., Mr. Waters is an entrepreneurial and business development professional with over 25 years experience in enterprise development, strategic planning, and high-volume production of engineered products and solutions. Mr. Waters is currently leading a "dream team" of advanced automotive experts in the research and development of lightweight, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs).
Previously, Mr. Waters was Vice President of the Transportation Practice at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). He initiated and established the practice, which provided advanced energy strategy for Fortune 500 companies (e.g., Alcoa, Pacific Gas & Electric, Wal-Mart, etc.).