MIH Consortium, the Foxconn-initiated open EV alliance that promotes collaboration in the mobility industry, announced Edward Hightower, CEO of Lordstown Motor Corp. (LMC), and Tricia Martinez, Managing Director for Techstars, joining as Advisors to the Board of MIH Consortium. Each with extensive experience in the global automotive and cleantech industry will bring their expertise and abundant resources as MIH enters a new phase to expand footprint globally.

MIH currently has more than 2,423 members from 65 countries and regions. The mission is to realize key technologies, develop reference designs and standards, while MIH bridges the gap for alliance members resulting in a lower barrier to entry, accelerated innovation, and shorter development cycles. MIH aims to drive EV adoption through industry stakeholder collaborations and create innovative solutions in line with the spirit of openness and agnosticism, for the next generation of EV, autonomous driving, and mobility service applications.

“We believe that Edward Hightower and Tricia Martinez can bring deep knowledge and insights to MIH that will help us expand in depth and breadth of our partnership strategy in the US and open up new opportunities to collaborate with more global partners as we build towards the open EV platform vision,” said Jack Cheng, CEO of MIH Consortium.

Mr. Hightower has 30 years of experience serving in product development, engineering, manufacturing, commercial, and senior executive roles between Ford, BMW, and GM. He led GM’s $15 billion global crossovers business as the Executive Chief Engineer and Vehicle Line Executive. At BMW, he helped drive 5 Series sales, market share, and profitability in the U.S. to record levels. Edward Hightower will bring technical expertise, go-to-market opportunities, and connections of the North America automotive industry to MIH.

Ms. Martinez is a serial entrepreneur and investor passionate about driving large-scale impact through technology and innovation. Currently, she is the Managing Director for Techstars Industries of the Future accelerator investing in and supporting breakthrough technologies that have the potential to change the world like artificial intelligence, cleantech, quantum, biotech, advanced manufacturing, and 5G technology. Tricia will accelerate the growth of MIH partnerships with corporations, governments, and startups in the US.

Jack Cheng (left), CEO of MIH Consortium, Tricia Martinez (upper right), Managing Director for Techstars, and Edward Hightower (lower right), CEO of Lordstown Motor Corp.