Meet Our Speakers
Axel Bense is President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Vans, LLC (MBV) in Ladson, South Carolina. MBV is a production plant for Sprinter and Metris vans, which represents an over $500 million investment and more than 1,600 jobs in the Charleston community. Mercedes-Benz Vans also supports more than 600 jobs throughout its regional supplier network.
Axel is originally from Germany, and joined the then DaimlerChrysler AG at the Bremen plant in 1999 as a graduate process engineer, and in 2001 he was responsible as project manager for the construction and commissioning of the new paint shop at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa. After various management positions at the Bremen, Sindelfingen, and Tuscaloosa sites; including managing the body shop planning for Mercedes-Benz globally, he took over production management at Mercedes-Benz Truck Vostok (MBTV) at the beginning of 2011. In this function, Axel was responsible for the construction and ramp-up of the new plant in Chelny, Russia. In 2015 he returned to Sindelfingen to lead the project "New Car Plant Russia". In 2017, as CEO, he took over the management and development of the new production company Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing RUS (MBMR) in Moscow. In 2020, Axel moved on to Thailand where he took over management at Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Thailand.
Gary is the Firm’s National Automotive Industry Leader, as well as the Global Lead Partner for Ford Motor Company. Gary has 25+ years of business experience, including over 17 years in the automotive industry.
Professional and industry experience
Gary has advised numerous domestic and multinational companies in areas of strategy, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. His specific focus includes helping clients identify and evaluate new investment and growth strategies from technology start-up companies to large scale multibillion-dollar investments.
For the past eight years he has focused on the intersection of technology and the automotive industry with groundbreaking research on Self-Driving Cars, connectivity and mobility demand services.
He has also worked on some of the most iconic, complex and strategic transactions in the industry. In particular, Gary has worked as an advisor to Ford Motor Company on its three most recent divestitures: Aston Martin, Jaguar/Land Rover, and Volvo and it’s recent multibillion AV Joint Venture with Volkswagen. Mr. Silberg has also advised Chrysler Corporation as part of its transaction with Fiat and now is working on the Peugeot/Fiat Chrysler transaction. He also has extensive knowledge and experience working with tier 1 automotive suppliers.
He has assisted several start-up automotive companies in developing their long-term strategies and business plans.
Gary is fluent in French and speaks basic level Chinese (Mandarin).
Thought leadership in the Automotive Industry
Gary is the chair of the annual Executive Automotive Share Forum Series, conducted in parallel with the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and Los Angeles.
He has written extensively about the industry. A selection of Gary’s recent publications include:
Autonomy delivers: An oncoming revolution in the movement of goods
Islands of Autonomy
I see. I think. I drive. (I learn).
The Clockspeed Dilemma – what it means for automotive innovation
Me, My Car, My Life … in the ultra-connected age
Self-driving cars: Are We Ready?
Self Driving Cars: The Next Revolution
Automotive semiconductors: The new ICE age
The future of automotive retailing
Gary also often provides media commentary on global trends in the automotive industry, including many guest appearances on CNBC, Squawk Box, Bloomberg TV – Other news media interviews include The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Reuters, Fortune, Forbes, Bloomberg, Wired, The Silicon Valley Business Journal, CNN Money, Industry Week, Outlook Business of India, China Auto and Yomiuri Shimbun of Japan and Automotive News.
As of June 1, 2019, Alexis Garcin is responsible for coordinating all activities of Michelin in North America, which encompasses more than $9.9 billion in sales and approximately 22,500 employees across Canada and the United States.
Michelin, the leading mobility company, is working with tires, around tires and beyond tires to enable Motion for Life. Dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility and sustainability, Michelin designs and distributes the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its customers’ needs. Michelin provides digital services, maps and
guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences. Bringing its expertise to new markets, the company is investing in high-technology materials, 3D printing and hydrogen, to serve a wide a variety of industries—from aerospace to biotech.
Garcin joined Michelin in 2002 and has held numerous positions in France, Switzerland, Germany and now in the U.S. He began his Michelin career as sales director of the car dealer channel in France. He then worked in the passenger car division, where he held sales director positions for the European and German markets, prior to being named managing director of EUROMASTER, a wholly-owned retail network subsidiary of the Michelin Group, in Germany. From 2011 to 2017, Garcin served as Michelin’s worldwide strategic marketing director for the truck and bus division and most recently led the global long-distance transportation business line.
Before joining Michelin, Garcin held several positions for BOSCH Group, including sales director for Western Europe of the power tool division.
As a leader, Garcin is guided by purpose, humility, boldness and authenticity. He prioritizes people, ensuring they always come first. He relentlessly pushes for progress by challenging the status quo, learning and applying best practices and meeting regularly with people—employees, customers, industry professionals and the community—who he finds to be a great source of inspiration.
He holds degrees from University Lumière in Lyon, France, where he earned a degree in Economical Sciences, and Saint-Etienne Business School in France, where he earned a master’s degree in Business and Management. Garcin serves on the board of the United States Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA).
Alexis joined Redwood Materials in 2020 and oversees the Government Relations, Marketing, and Communications teams and the Consumer Recycling Program. Prior to joining Redwood, she was Head of Corporate and Policy Communications at Waymo, leading the strategy as the company evolved from Google’s Self-Driving Car Project into a commercial business. Prior, Alexis was at Tesla for 5.5 years where she led product launches and announcements beginning with Model S in 2012 through Model 3, Gigafactory 1, Supercharger, the acquisition of SolarCity, Autopilot and corporate and crisis communications.
Ashely Teasdel was promoted to Deputy Secretary of Commerce in November 2021. She most recently served as the director of the Business Services Division, which focuses its efforts on small business development, existing industry support, supplier outreach, emergency management and recycling market development. With the belief that every business, large or small, deserves every benefit it can get, Teasdel dedicated her time to developing statewide programmatic relationships to benefit local businesses and global enterprises alike.
In her tenure as director of the Business Services Division, Teasdel successfully merged the functions of the division through deliberate efforts to integrate the division’s purpose of what Commerce has dubbed as “Service After the Sale.” She was instrumental in the launch of support resources for start-ups and existing companies; accelerated the use of B2B platforms for specific industries; managed an initiative to build minority business engagement that included supplier outreach experiences; and developed ally outreach for effective coordination of small business support for more sourcing needs. Teasdel also led the agency’s COVID-19 response efforts and served on Governor McMaster’s AccelerateSC task force to support the business community in navigating impacts from the pandemic.
Prior to joining SC Commerce in 2015, Teasdel spent almost a decade working in the banking sector, focusing on small business advisory support and development within South Carolina. She served in a variety of roles including financial center management, small business advisor and commercial lending. Teasdel is an active board member of the SC Economic Developers Association (SCEDA) and the Business Development Corporation (CDC) of SC.
Teasdel holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Charleston Southern University and a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Wesleyan University. She is a graduate of the BB&T Leadership Development Institute in Winston-Salem, N.C., the South Carolina Economic Development Institute and the SC Certified Public Managers Program.
Teasdel resides in Irmo with her husband and two daughters.
In her tenure as director of the Business Services Division, Teasdel successfully merged the functions of the division through deliberate efforts to integrate the division’s purpose of what Commerce has dubbed as “Service After the Sale.” She was instrumental in the launch of support resources for start-ups and existing companies; accelerated the use of B2B platforms for specific industries; managed an initiative to build minority business engagement that included supplier outreach experiences; and developed ally outreach for effective coordination of small business support for more sourcing needs. Teasdel also led the agency’s COVID-19 response efforts and served on Governor McMaster’s AccelerateSC task force to support the business community in navigating impacts from the pandemic.
Prior to joining SC Commerce in 2015, Teasdel spent almost a decade working in the banking sector, focusing on small business advisory support and development within South Carolina. She served in a variety of roles including financial center management, small business advisor and commercial lending. Teasdel is an active board member of the SC Economic Developers Association (SCEDA) and the Business Development Corporation (CDC) of SC.
Teasdel holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Charleston Southern University and a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Wesleyan University. She is a graduate of the BB&T Leadership Development Institute in Winston-Salem, N.C., the South Carolina Economic Development Institute and the SC Certified Public Managers Program.
Teasdel resides in Irmo with her husband and two daughters.
James P. Clements became Clemson University's 15th president on Dec. 31, 2013 after serving as president of West Virginia University. Since his arrival, the value of the Tiger Paw has never been higher, driven by the university's elevated academic reputation and the exposure from Clemson University's athletic success on the national stage.
Under Clements' leadership, Clemson has raised the bar in academics, admissions, enrollment, research, retention rates, graduation rates and diversity. Clements has also led the way in helping to raise more than $1.2 billion in private funds since he arrived at Clemson.
Clements is a nationally recognized leader in higher education who has served as president of a university in three different athletic conferences, Big East Conference, Big 12 Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, where he served as the 2016-17 Chair of the ACC Council of Presidents. In April, he was named to the College Football Playoff Board of Managers.
He currently serves on the board of directors of the American Council on Education, the executive committee for the Council of Competitiveness, the Council of Presidents for the Association of Governing Boards and on the Special Olympics International Board of Directors. Clements previously served as the Chair of the Board for the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities.
Clements holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science as well as a master's degree and Ph.D. in operations analysis from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He also holds an M.S. degree in computer science from Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering and was awarded an honorary degree as Doctor of Public Education from his alma mater, UMBC.
During the nearly five years Clements served as the president of West Virginia University, WVU set significant records in private fundraising, research funding, academic rankings, application, diversity, enrollment, and retention and graduation rates.
He was a leader in West Virginia – chairing the boards of the West Virginia United Health System, the WVU Hospitals and the WVU Research Corporation.
The grandson of a coal miner and a firefighter, and son to parents who taught him and his three older siblings that education was the key to a better life, Clements is a first generation college graduate. This was a key reason he pursued a life and career in higher education – to give others the same opportunity he was given by getting a formal education.
He has published and presented more than 75 papers in the fields of higher education, leadership, strategic planning, project management, computer science and information technology. He also served as principal investigator or co-investigator on more than $15 million in research grants.
Prior to his service at WVU, Clements served as provost and vice president for academic affairs, vice president for Economic Development & Community Outreach and the Robert W. Deutsch Distinguished Professor of Information Technology at Towson University, the second largest university in the University System of Maryland, where he was a four-time winner of the Faculty Member-of-the-Year Award, given by Towson students. He was a member of the Colonial Academic Alliance as part of the Colonial Athletic Conference.
Clements' "Successful Project Management" book is now in its seventh edition and is published in multiple languages and used in numerous countries.
Clements was born in Arlington, Va., but spent the majority of his life in Maryland before relocating to West Virginia and then to Clemson. He and his wife, Beth, have been married for 30 years and have four children, Tyler, Hannah, Maggie and Grace; two sons-in-law, Tanner Coombs and Max Kinser; a daughter-in-law, Margot Murray Clements; a grandson, Cannon Coombs; and a granddaughter, Eliza Clements.
Under Clements' leadership, Clemson has raised the bar in academics, admissions, enrollment, research, retention rates, graduation rates and diversity. Clements has also led the way in helping to raise more than $1.2 billion in private funds since he arrived at Clemson.
Clements is a nationally recognized leader in higher education who has served as president of a university in three different athletic conferences, Big East Conference, Big 12 Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, where he served as the 2016-17 Chair of the ACC Council of Presidents. In April, he was named to the College Football Playoff Board of Managers.
He currently serves on the board of directors of the American Council on Education, the executive committee for the Council of Competitiveness, the Council of Presidents for the Association of Governing Boards and on the Special Olympics International Board of Directors. Clements previously served as the Chair of the Board for the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities.
Clements holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science as well as a master's degree and Ph.D. in operations analysis from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He also holds an M.S. degree in computer science from Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering and was awarded an honorary degree as Doctor of Public Education from his alma mater, UMBC.
During the nearly five years Clements served as the president of West Virginia University, WVU set significant records in private fundraising, research funding, academic rankings, application, diversity, enrollment, and retention and graduation rates.
He was a leader in West Virginia – chairing the boards of the West Virginia United Health System, the WVU Hospitals and the WVU Research Corporation.
The grandson of a coal miner and a firefighter, and son to parents who taught him and his three older siblings that education was the key to a better life, Clements is a first generation college graduate. This was a key reason he pursued a life and career in higher education – to give others the same opportunity he was given by getting a formal education.
He has published and presented more than 75 papers in the fields of higher education, leadership, strategic planning, project management, computer science and information technology. He also served as principal investigator or co-investigator on more than $15 million in research grants.
Prior to his service at WVU, Clements served as provost and vice president for academic affairs, vice president for Economic Development & Community Outreach and the Robert W. Deutsch Distinguished Professor of Information Technology at Towson University, the second largest university in the University System of Maryland, where he was a four-time winner of the Faculty Member-of-the-Year Award, given by Towson students. He was a member of the Colonial Academic Alliance as part of the Colonial Athletic Conference.
Clements' "Successful Project Management" book is now in its seventh edition and is published in multiple languages and used in numerous countries.
Clements was born in Arlington, Va., but spent the majority of his life in Maryland before relocating to West Virginia and then to Clemson. He and his wife, Beth, have been married for 30 years and have four children, Tyler, Hannah, Maggie and Grace; two sons-in-law, Tanner Coombs and Max Kinser; a daughter-in-law, Margot Murray Clements; a grandson, Cannon Coombs; and a granddaughter, Eliza Clements.
Byron Miller leads all sales, marketing and business development efforts at SC Ports, growing and diversifying South Carolina’s cargo base.
Byron joined SC Ports in 1993 and worked in many leadership positions across the organization. Since he joined the commercial group in 2012, the Port of Charleston earned the title of the nation’s fastest growing top 10 seaport.
Byron held several roles including director of sales where he worked collaboratively with many of SC Ports’ largest customers in the automotive, manufacturing and distribution sectors and helped to develop solutions for their end-to-end supply chain objectives.
A South Carolina native, Byron has been active with various professional associations and community organizations and was previously named the Charleston region’s “Transportation Leader of the Year” and the Propeller Club Member of the Year.
He earned bachelor’s degrees in business and French from The College of Charleston, with a concentration in global logistics.
Dr. Chris Paredis is the BMW Endowed Chair in Systems Integration in the Department of Automotive Engineering. Previously, he was a Professor at Georgia Tech and a Program Director at the National Science Foundation in the CMMI Division (Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation). In his research, Dr. Paredis focuses on Model-Based Systems Engineering, combining aspects of decision theory, information technology, simulation, and systems theory to support the design of complex engineered systems. He also leads the Deep Orange program in which MS students in Automotive Engineering design and build a concept car from the ground up over the two years of their studies.
Governor Henry Dargan McMaster, a longtime public servant of South Carolina, was born May 27, 1947, in Columbia, South Carolina. He received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Carolina in 1969 and as an undergraduate was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and the South Carolina Student Legislature.
In 1973, he graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was on the editorial board of the South Carolina Law Review. Later that year, he was admitted to the Richland County Bar Association. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves, receiving an honorable discharge in 1975.
Upon graduation from law school, he was a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond in Washington, D.C., and joined the law firm of Tompkins and McMaster in 1974. He was later admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Governor McMaster practiced law for over 40 years, as a federal and state prosecutor and in private practice in both state and federal courts.
Governor McMaster was the first U.S. attorney appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, and his "Operation Jackpot" investigation into international drug smuggling resulted in more than 100 convictions.
In 1991, he was appointed to the state Commission on Higher Education and joined the Board of Directors of the nonprofit South Carolina Policy Council where he also served as chair. He chaired the state Republican Party from 1993 to 2002. He was elected attorney general of South Carolina in 2002 and reelected in 2006.
As attorney general, Governor McMaster made prosecution of criminal domestic violence a priority and led a crackdown on child internet predators. He extended the South Carolina grand jury's jurisdiction to environmental and gang crimes and broadened its authority to include securities crimes.
Following service on the South Carolina Ports Authority, he was elected lieutenant governor in 2014. As lieutenant governor, he led efforts to protect our state’s growing senior citizen population with social, economic, and health support services, which earned national recognition from AARP.
McMaster was sworn in as governor in January 2017 following then - Governor Nikki Haley’s appointment as United States Ambassador to the United Nations and was elected to a full term as governor in November 2018.
Governor McMaster has led a strong and vibrant South Carolina economy, announcing more than 45,000 new jobs and over $13.5 billion in new capital investment in the state. Under his leadership, the state has made transformative investments in the classroom by expanding full day four-year-old kindergarten, raising K-12 teacher pay, and placing a school resource officer in every school. Colleges and universities are becoming more accessible and affordable due to the governor’s tuition freeze and by his doubling of funding for needs-based financial aid for in-state students. He has cut taxes on our state’s small businesses by $317 million and has returned over $67 million dollars to the taxpayers. The governor has kept the commitment to our state’s military veterans, first responders, law enforcement, firefighters, and peace officers – through pay increases, retention bonuses, and exemptions on retirement income exemption. The governor’s limited, measured, and temporary COVID-19 actions – coupled with freezing all new state government spending during the pandemic – allowed South Carolina’s economy not only to survive, but to actually thrive and generate record surpluses.
Governor McMaster served on the Palmetto Health Foundation Board and is the recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, the state's highest civilian honor awarded to citizens of South Carolina for extraordinary lifetime service and achievements of national and statewide significance. He was previously named Public Servant of the Year by the Sierra Club and National Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the Humane Society of the United States.
Governor McMaster and his wife, Peggy, have two adult children and reside in Columbia.
David currently serves as Vice President, Manufacturing, Americas, and Plant Manager, Volvo Car Charleston Plant – a position he has held since January 2021.
He joined Volvo Cars in 1995, and most recently served as the general manager for the Daqing plant in China since 2018. He has held various management positions in manufacturing and manufacturing engineering.
David received his Master of Science degree in Applied Mechanics from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Dr. Srikanth Pilla is the ExxonMobil Employees Chair in Engineering at Clemson University. He is also the Founding Director of Clemson Composites Center, Director of DOE-EFRC “AIM for Composites”, and the Director of the Automotive Engineering Certificate Program. Prior to joining Clemson, Pilla worked as an Assistant Scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Pilla’s research interests are in the fundamentals and applications of sustainable and lightweight functional materials and manufacturing.
Joseph C. Von Nessen is a research economist in the Division of Research at the Darla Moore School of Business where he specializes in regional economics, regional economic forecasting and housing economics. He regularly conducts a wide variety of economic impact analyses, feasibility studies and independent market research projects for clients in both the private and public sector.
Von Nessen engages in industry-level and regional economic forecasting for organizations at the state, national and international level. He has served as lead researcher on projects with clients as diverse as Sonoco, BlueCross BlueShield, Michelin, Boeing and the Savannah River National Lab, among others. He has also been the recipient of many grants from both local and national sources, including the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Von Nessen is also responsible for the preparation and presentation of the University of South Carolina's annual statewide economic forecast. He serves on the advisory committee of the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors and is regularly invited to brief the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on economic conditions in South Carolina. He frequently appears on programs at national conventions, including the International Builders Show, the 21st Century Building Expo and the North American Regional Science Council and its subsidiaries.
In addition, Von Nessen specializes in housing economics and residential real estate and provides economic and marketing research and consulting services to builders, developers and other businesses in the housing industry on a regular basis. His recent academic research has focused on the application of hedonic house price modeling to the housing industry. He is a member of the National Association of Home Builders and is actively involved with the local branches of the Home Builders Association and the Association of REALTORS throughout South Carolina.
Von Nessen is a frequent speaker for business and government leaders throughout the southeast, providing information and consultation about business, housing markets and local economies. He also makes frequent media appearances to discuss various local economic topics of interest.
As President and CEO of AutoForecast Solutions LLC (AFS), Joe McCabe leverages his decades of industry experience and knowledge to provide production forecasting and advisory services to the global automotive community. Joe manages the automotive turnkey operations at AFS including the global light vehicle, powertrain, drivetrain, and alternative propulsion forecast as well as a suite of AFS proprietary opportunity and sales planning software. AFS supports all tiered suppliers, VMs, government agencies, financial institutions, and the academic community with data, planning solutions, and a personalized support to help identify new business opportunities while mitigating risk. Joe’s 25+ year career in automotive forecasting ranges from his tenure at AutoFacts, PwC, AutomotiveCompass, and now AutoForecast Solutions. Joe earned his Bachelor’s of Chemical Engineering at Villanova University and an MBA at Pennsylvania State University.
Rob graduated from Clemson University in 1994 with a B.S. Degree in Civil Engineering and is registered as a Professional Engineer for the State of South Carolina.
Rob began his career with the South Carolina Department of Transportation in 1993 as a summer intern and is currently the Director of Engineering Support.
Rob is a Certified Public Manager and serves on AASHTO’s Council on Active Transportation and the Committee on Design.
Rob began his career with the South Carolina Department of Transportation in 1993 as a summer intern and is currently the Director of Engineering Support.
Rob is a Certified Public Manager and serves on AASHTO’s Council on Active Transportation and the Committee on Design.
