Viewing offline content

Limited functionality available

Dismiss
United States
  • Services

    What's New

    • US business impact of COVID-19

      Restart and recover with confidence

    • Register for Dbriefs webcasts

    • Change isn't just coming. It's here.

      Taking action against systemic bias, racism, and unequal treatment

    • Tax

      • Global Business Tax Services
      • Global Employer Services
      • Multistate Tax
      • Operations Transformation for Tax
    • Consulting

      • Core Business Operations
      • Customer & Marketing
      • Enterprise Technology & Performance
      • Human Capital
      • Strategy & Analytics
    • Audit & Assurance

      • Audit Innovation
      • Accounting Standards
      • Accounting Events & Transactions
    • Deloitte Private Company Services

    • Mergers & Acquisitions

      • Total M&A Solution
      • Post-merger Integration
      • Divestiture & Separation
    • Risk & Financial Advisory

      • Accounting & Internal Controls
      • Cyber & Strategic Risk
      • Regulatory & Legal
      • Transactions and M&A
    • Analytics

    • Cloud

  • Industries

    What's New

    • US business impact of COVID-19

      Restart and recover with confidence

    • Register for Dbriefs webcasts

    • Industry Outlooks

      Key opportunities, trends, and challenges

    • Consumer

      • Automotive
      • Consumer Products
      • Retail, Wholesale & Distribution
      • Transportation, Hospitality & Services
    • Energy, Resources & Industrials

      • Industrial Products & Construction
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil, Gas & Chemicals
      • Power, Utilities & Renewables
    • Financial Services

      • Banking & Capital Markets
      • Insurance
      • Investment Management
      • Real Estate
    • Government & Public Services

      • Defense, Security & Justice
      • Federal health
      • Civil
      • State & Local
      • Higher Education
    • Life Sciences & Health Care

      • Health Care
      • Life Sciences
    • Technology, Media & Telecommunications

      • Technology
      • Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment
  • Insights

    Deloitte Insights

    What's New

    • Deloitte Insights Magazine

      Leading beyond the disruption. Read the Spring 2021 issue now.

    • Deloitte Insights app

      Go straight to smart with daily updates on your mobile device

    • Weekly economic update

      See what's happening this week and the impact on your business

    • By topic

      • AI & cognitive technologies
      • Analytics
      • Blockchain
      • Digital transformation
      • Diversity & inclusion
      • Economics
      • Human capital
      • Innovation
      • Leadership
      • Private companies
      • Risk management
      • Strategy
    • By sector

      • Automotive
      • Consumer products & retail
      • Financial services
      • Government & public services
      • Health care
      • Industrial products
      • Life sciences
      • Oil, gas & chemicals
      • Power, utilities & renewables
      • Technology
      • Telecom, media & entertainment
      • Transportation & hospitality
    • Spotlight

      • Deloitte Insights Magazine
      • Climate and sustainability
      • Economic weekly update
      • Future of work
      • 2021 Human Capital Trends
      • 2021 Tech Trends
  • Careers

    What's New

    • Life at Deloitte Podcast

      A podcast by our professionals who share a sneak peek at life inside Deloitte.

    • Life at Deloitte Blog

      Discover Deloitte and learn more about our people and culture.

    • Change isn't just coming. It's here.

      Taking action against systemic bias, racism, and unequal treatment

    • Careers

      • Audit & Assurance
      • Consulting
      • Risk & Financial Advisory
      • Tax
      • Internal Services
      • US Delivery Center
    • Students

      • Undergraduate
      • Advanced Degree
      • Professional Development
      • Recruiting Process
    • Experienced Professionals

      • Recruiting Process
      • Veterans
      • Industries
      • Executives
    • Job Search

      • Entry Level Jobs
      • Experienced Professional Jobs
      • Recruiting Tips
      • Explore Your Fit
      • Labor Condition Applications
    • Life at Deloitte

      • Life at Deloitte Blog
      • Meet Our People
      • Inclusion
      • Corporate Citizenship
      • Leadership Development
      • Empowered Well-Being
      • Deloitte University
    • Alumni Relations

      • Update Your Information
      • Events
      • Career Development Support
      • Marketplace Jobs Dashboard
      • Alumni Resources
  • US-EN Location: United States-English  
  • Contact us
  • US-EN Location: United States-English  
  • Contact us
    • Dashboard
    • Saved items
    • Content feed
    • Subscriptions
    • Profile/Interests
    • Account settings

Welcome back

Still not a member? Join My Deloitte

Building a driverless future

by Darrin Kelley, Ryan Robinson, Steve Schmith
  • Save for later
  • Download
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
Deloitte Insights
  • By topic
    By topic
    By topic
    • AI & cognitive technologies
    • Analytics
    • Blockchain
    • Digital transformation
    • Diversity & inclusion
    • Economics
    • Human capital
    • Innovation
    • Leadership
    • Private companies
    • Risk management
    • Strategy
  • By sector
    By sector
    By sector
    • Automotive
    • Consumer products & retail
    • Financial services
    • Government & public services
    • Health care
    • Industrial products
    • Life sciences
    • Oil, gas & chemicals
    • Power, utilities & renewables
    • Technology
    • Telecom, media & entertainment
    • Transportation & hospitality
  • Spotlight
    Spotlight
    Spotlight
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Climate and sustainability
    • Economic weekly update
    • Future of work
    • 2021 Human Capital Trends
    • 2021 Tech Trends
    • US-EN Location: United States-English  
    • Contact us
      • Dashboard
      • Saved items
      • Content feed
      • Subscriptions
      • Profile/Interests
      • Account settings
    6 minute read 04 January 2019

    Building a driverless future An executive interview with GM’s Mandi Damman

    6 minute read 04 January 2019
    • Darrin Kelley United States
    • Ryan Robinson United States
    • Steve Schmith United States
    • Save for later
    • Download
    • Share
      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Linkedin
      • Share by email

    A driverless future beckons car companies to build the most effective and efficient autonomous cars. GM’s Mandi Damman speaks about creating environment-friendly autonomous cars, integrating cross-functional teams to succeed together, and what it means to be a woman in the automotive ecosystem.

    GM’s Mandi Damman

    Companies across a vast and expanding automotive ecosystem are racing toward a future of mobility in which autonomous vehicles figure prominently, potentially delivering highly touted benefits such as increased safety, less congestion, and reduced pollution. Still, the road to that future is long and filled with twists, turns, and unforeseen bumps. Automotive manufacturers are at the center of a global effort to create, test, and prove that autonomous technology can truly deliver the promised benefits.

    General Motors (GM) is investing billions of dollars in its endeavor to build a driverless future. Guided by the company’s vision of zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion, GM has announced plans to begin launching self-driving vehicles at scale in 2019,1 and add more than 20 electric vehicles to its product lineup by 2023.2

    Learn more

    Explore the Future of Mobility collection

    Subscribe to receive related content

    Download Deloitte’s 2019 Automotive News supplement

    We sat down with Mandi Damman, GM’s chief engineer of autonomous vehicles, to discuss the journey to autonomous mobility. She shares her perspectives on challenges facing all automakers, GM’s innovations in autonomous vehicles, and the work she is doing to encourage young people to explore careers in engineering.

    DELOITTE: General Motors’ CEO, Mary Barra, has expressed her vision to create a future with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. What is your role in supporting that vision through the autonomous drive development program you lead at GM?

    MANDI DAMMAN: The work we’re doing on the Autonomous Vehicle team touches each one of those pillars. Ninety percent of traffic-related accidents are caused by human error, so autonomous vehicles have the opportunity to make our roadways much safer—they don’t drive distracted, they don’t drive tired, and they don’t drive drunk. So we know that the work we’re doing can make our roadways significantly safer, and we’re committed to doing that.

    At GM, we believe that autonomous vehicles should be electric vehicles, so we built our program off the zero-emissions Bolt EV platform, which is ideal for this application. In terms of zero congestion, deploying the first autonomous vehicles in a rideshare environment allows us to adjust the times when vehicles are on the road. When the cars aren’t transporting rideshare passengers, we can use them to deliver packages in the middle of the night to completely change the way mobility works. This is something that we’re doing to move humanity forward, and on the Autonomous Vehicles Program team, we have a huge role in doing just that.

    DELOITTE: How do you engage the consumer on the concept of autonomous vehicles? How are you getting them to buy into the vision?

    MD: We’re keeping the customer at the center of everything we do. We have started to communicate our approach to developing AVs safely, including a self-driving safety report that goes into detail on our technologies, our systems, and our product integrity. We’re committed to bringing the consumer with us on this technology journey. Ours isn’t like a typical vehicle program where you keep all your secrets and then one day the vehicle gets revealed. We are committed to bringing our customers along on the journey and showing them what we’re doing to build trust.

    DELOITTE: Is the journey toward fully autonomous technology a stair-step approach where people are slowly adapting to individual safety features like automatic braking or adaptive cruise control, or do you see a more immediate, revolutionary shift at some point?

    MD: We see two different, coexisting paths. On one hand is the revolutionary shift we’re working on to develop the technology, software, and business model required for a fully autonomous rideshare service. On the other is more of an evolutionary change built on increasingly capable driver-assist technologies.

    DELOITTE: How do you collaborate with other development teams within General Motors that are working on advanced technologies such as vehicle electrification, light-weighting, and connectivity?

    MD: Having everything under one big roof is what has enabled us to be successful. We brought our cross-functional team together at GM to work more closely in a shared space, so we actually have the autonomous team sitting near the electric vehicle team. We then pull in whomever we need to sit with us at each stage of the program, including members of the design studio, purchasing, engineering, and finance. This approach enables us to move fast by increasing communication and making it easier to find the experts we need to quickly tackle complex issues. We’ve used the model of co-locating and working together as one team to get us where we are today.

    DELOITTE: When do you think we’ll get to an inflection point where fleets of autonomous vehicles are able to establish a foothold and start scaling?

    MD: At our current rate of development, we’re focused on launching in a dense, urban environment in 2019 once we are satisfied that it is safe to do so. We’re committed to that and we’re working hard to achieve it.

    DELOITTE: Other than the technology built into the car, what are some of the other elements required to make fully autonomous vehicles a reality?

    MD: Ensuring that we have adequate fleet management—including frequent safety checks—and data infrastructure in place will be essential. From there, it’s on us to have the back-office connections to make sure the computing, perception, and overall vehicle technology is working as intended.

    DELOITTE: As a woman leading one of the most exciting fields in the automotive industry right now, and as someone who is very passionate about STEM initiatives, what do you think is the best way to celebrate the contributions of women in automotive, and to inspire young women to consider the industry for a career?

    MD: Having role models and finding a mentor is so important. I’m the first engineer in my family, which made choosing where I was going to go to school, what engineering degree I was going to pursue in undergrad, and ultimately where I was going to work quite challenging. I didn’t have very many role models in STEM, and I quickly realized there weren’t many engineers who looked like me. When I started as a co-op student, it was also hard to find a mentor, so I love getting out there in the community and talking to young girls, and mentoring colleagues at GM who are early in their careers.

    DELOITTE: Are there examples of where mentorship or sponsorship really made a difference in your career?

    MD: When I was first starting off as a co-op student, my neighbor knew a woman who worked at GM and happened to be a chief engineer. She was well-established in her career, but every time that I came back to work as a co-op student, we would meet, she’d buy me lunch, and we’d talk about how my current assignment was going and next steps. It was an informal mentoring relationship, but I continued to meet with her until she retired. She was a great advocate for me, and it taught me a lot about networking, mentorship, and building those critical relationships. GM is a big company and having somebody like that to help me navigate it and be an advocate for me was huge.

    DELOITTE: One last question. If you had the chance to address a graduating class or group of young people, what would you tell them you enjoy the most about your job?

    MD: One of the things I’ve realized recently is that I love how fearless young people are. I try to remind them never to lose that. I could have said “no” to a lot of challenging positions that frankly I thought I had no business being in along the way. But thankfully I took those opportunities to do something new and learn a new area of the business.

    The coolest part of my job is the problems we get to solve. There is no recipe for what we do. There’s no vehicle development timeline that matches what we’re executing, but that is what makes it super fun and exciting. And if you stay fearless, you will be in a great position to solve future problems and build the foundation for an exciting career.

    Acknowledgments

    Cover image by: Traci Daberko

    Endnotes
      1. Michael Wayland, “GM's autonomous vehicle unit receives $2.25B boost from investment firm,” Automotive News, May 31, 2018. View in article

      2. Automotive News, “Nearly 100 electrified models slated to arrive through 2022,” October 1, 2018. View in article

    Show moreShow lessShow less

    Topics in this article

    Automotive , Future of Mobility , Transportation & Logistics , Leadership

    Automotive

    Deloitte’s global automotive team helps automotive companies execute innovative ideas in exceptional ways. We offer a global, integrated approach combined with business and industry knowledge to help our clients excel anywhere in the world.

    Learn more
    Get in touch
    Contact
    • Darrin Kelley
    • Partner
    • Deloitte Advisory LLP
    • darkelley@deloitte.com
    • +1 313 396 3420

    Download Subscribe

    Related

    img Trending

    Interactive 3 days ago

    Steve Schmith

    Steve Schmith

    Steve Schmith leads marketing for Deloitte’s Automotive practice globally and in the United States. He works with practice leaders and a team of marketers around the world to shape and activate marketing campaigns that drive the business and build Deloitte’s brand with automotive stakeholders worldwide. He is also responsible for leading the practice’s relationships with automotive trade groups, associations, and media groups across the United States.

    • sschmith@deloitte.com
    Darrin Kelley

    Darrin Kelley

    Darrin is the Advisory leader for the US Automotive practice, and US Travel, Hospitality & Leisure practice for Deloitte & Touche LLP. Darrin has extensive knowledge and experience in assisting directors and executives with improving the quality of organizations’ corporate governance, risk management, and internal control processes. He brings global perspective and experience to his clients, having delivered solutions to large US and global corporations and institutions.

    • darkelley@deloitte.com
    • +1 213 688 5420
    Ryan Robinson

    Ryan Robinson

    Automotive Research Leader

    Ryan is the research leader supporting the global Automotive sector for Deloitte's Consumer Industry Center at Deloitte LLP. His primary focus is creating engaging, actionable insights to deepen the conversation around key trends and issues occurring across the global automotive sector landscape. For the past two decades, Ryan has supported companies throughout the automotive value chain, from manufacturers and parts suppliers to private equity firms and after-market service providers. He has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has been quoted as a subject-matter expert in major media outlets around the world. Robinson holds degrees in philosophy, classical archaeology, and English literature from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

    • ryanrobinson@deloitte.ca
    • +1 647 502 9566

    Share article highlights

    See something interesting? Simply select text and choose how to share it:

    Email a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
    Copy a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
    Copy your highlighted text.

    Building a driverless future has been saved

    Building a driverless future has been removed

    An Article Titled Building a driverless future already exists in Saved items

    Invalid special characters found 
    Forgot password

    OR

    Social login not available on Microsoft Edge browser at this time.

    Connect Accounts

    Connect your social accounts

    This is the first time you have logged in with a social network.

    You have previously logged in with a different account. To link your accounts, please re-authenticate.

    Log in with an existing social network:

    To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

    OR

    Log in with an existing site account:

    To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

    Forgot password

    Subscribe

    to receive more business insights, analysis, and perspectives from Deloitte Insights
    ✓ Link copied to clipboard
    • Contact us
    • Search jobs
    • Submit RFP
    • Subscribe to Deloitte Insights
    Follow Deloitte Insights:
    Global office directory US office locations
    US-EN Location: United States-English  
    About Deloitte
    • About Deloitte
    • My Deloitte
    • Deloitte Insights
    • Press releases
    • Email subscriptions
    • Submit RFP
    • US office locations
    • Alumni
    • Global office directory
    • Newsroom
    • Dbriefs webcasts
    • Contact us
    Services
    • Tax
    • Consulting
    • Audit & Assurance
    • Deloitte Private Company Services
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Risk & Financial Advisory
    • Analytics
    • Cloud
    Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Technology, Media & Telecommunications
    Careers
    • Careers
    • Students
    • Experienced Professionals
    • Job Search
    • Life at Deloitte
    • Alumni Relations
    • About Deloitte
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy
    • Privacy Shield
    • Cookies
    • Legal Information for Job Seekers
    • Labor Condition Applications
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

    © 2021. See Terms of Use for more information.

    Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

    Learn more about Deloitte's work for the US Olympic Committee