CVPRO CONVERSATIONS: FALL 2022 CVBSUMMIT
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE BUSINESS SUMMIT
Kevin Kinell, CTO of Work Truck Solutions, sat down recently with the company’s Founder and Chief Vision Officer, Kathryn Schifferle, to discuss the history and goals of the upcoming Commercial Vehicle Business Summit. Kevin has been with Work Truck Solutions for over seven years; prior to joining full time he helped the company architect its initial technology strategy. His question to Kathryn was why they decided to launch the first CVBS, and what the goals are of the upcoming event this month on October 26/27.
When asked about the history, Kathryn explained that in 2020 when COVID led to a significant increase in virtual events, there were many that focused on mobility, autonomy, innovation, technology and more in the auto space, but nothing in the commercial vehicle space that focuses on the actual upfitted vehicles themselves. She felt like it was terribly important to be thinking more holistically about the entire business of commercial vehicles. Putting together the first CVBS in March of 2021, her goal was to highlight the uniqueness of the industry, and all of the stakeholders in the ecosystem. She asked many leaders in each of the areas – OEMs, upfitters, dealers, finance, fleet, EV, data and more – to come together on panels and discuss the new world facing the business of commercial vehicles. That event was such a hit and raised so many questions, especially around the adoption of EVs, that a Fall 2021 event was planned to focus on the subject of new drivetrains, and how this space was unique in commercial adoption.
“Our CVBS panel discussions charge me up; I so love the diverse views and different perspectives that paint a better picture of where we are or can be going,’ expressed Kathryn. Kevin has also led one of those panels around innovation and he agreed that the results were very unique and worthwhile for attendees. “Our Fall ‘22 CVBS will be the best yet”, continued Kathryn, “as we are honing in on some of the best opportunities the new inventory status has created.”
