Ignite Automotive 3 - Greggory Garrett - Preparing to Compete in the Connected World

Greggory R. Garrett is the CEO and Managing Director of CGS Advisors, a boutique strategy and innovation advisory firm. As such he pushes the limits of corporate cultures by developing and implementing unique strategies that capitalize on technology oriented disruptions to industries and markets. He is often referred to as a visionary leader who prides himself in recognizing commonsense solutions for complex problems and motivating teams to reach well beyond the typical boundaries to achieve greatness. Prior to founding CGS Advisors, Gregg was the Chief Strategy Officer for IT & Innovation at Volkswagen Group of America. As such, he developed and led the Strategy and Innovation practice for one of the largest automotive companies in the world. His teams defined the corporation's strategy for how to apply IT; developed and managed innovation programs focused on “the connected world; and managed a set of support functions including market research, business planning, and a corporate venture capital program. Before his time at Volkswagen, Mr. Garrett led the development and execution of the corporate strategy department and reestablished and operated the Marketing and Business Development functions as a Sr. Vice President for T-Systems North America (Deutsche Telekom's business division). Before assuming this role, Gregg led a consulting group for gedas USA. During his tenure at gedas Gregg was instrumental in launching the Enterprise Architecture Interest Group, a cross industry consortium focused on advancing the practice of EA. Prior to joining gedas, Mr. Garrett was part of Ernst & Young's and Cap Gemini's management consulting practices based in the United States. Gregg's academic training includes a Masters in Business Administration from Michigan State's Broad School for Executive Management, and a Bachelors of Science in Systems Engineering from Oakland University, as well as certificates from Upsalla University (Sweden) and the Helsinki School of Economics (Finland). Gregg is a "maker." He founded his first firm at the age of 16. Gregg founded a collegiate lacrosse program by 20. And his first industry consortium by 29. Gregg is a teacher. He has authored a Harvard Business School case, key noted and spoken at over 50 global conferences, and continues as adjunct faculty and guest lecturer at several business and engineering schools. Gregg loves to lead. He sits on several corporate advisor boards, chairs a not for profit association, and has been coaching since he was 14. Gregg has received numerous professional and civic accolades. He is a member of Oakland County's 2015 40 under 40, a recipient of Oakland University's Distinguished Alumni Service Award, a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow, as well as the founder of AndDetroit Enterprise Innovation Group. Gregg's unique blend of professional management experiences in corporate settings, entrepreneurism, systemic understanding of enterprises, and knowledge of upcoming technologies makes him passionate about two distinct things: The Connected World – similar to how the Internet has effected how people communicate from the 90s to today, the ultra-connected environment of people AND products will revolutionize the world economy over the next 10 years. People – The best strategies are useless unless people are motivated to understand and implement them. [Video Sponsored by Magna International Inc.]