Interview with Alexandre Audoin, Head of Automotive Capgemini Group

What does "Experience Connected Mobility" mean to you?
It's about getting from A to B and beyond, flexibly and seamlessly, and in a way that is safe, satisfying, and sustainable.

What do you hope to achieve at IAA MOBILITY 2023?
I have two main aims. The first is to discuss the latest tech solutions, trends and opportunities with our clients and technology partners, and explore how we can translate opportunities into realities. The second is to showcase our Capgemini position on key topics like Supply Chain, Sustainability, Software, and Customer Experience.

Which essential topic of the future receives too little attention from the public?
Sustainability. This topic often gets drowned out by conversations about legislation and emissions, but it's much bigger than that. It's important that the industry embraces a holistic view of sustainability. It's not just about electrification, decarbonization or even circular economy. It's about embracing all of these principles together as part of a holistic approach that covers products, services, processes, and operations, and engages manufacturers, suppliers, technology partners, and customers.

In which area of mobility do you see the greatest potential and where do you see the greatest need to catch up?
My answer is the same for both – software. Software has the power to put customers at the heart of safe, secure, sustainable, and satisfying mobility experiences. And yet, this is arguably also the area where most companies need to catch up. For traditional OEMs, the challenge is greater as it requires large-scale transformation and a departure from a way of working they have known for decades. The arrival of 'digital-first' new entrants has highlighted the importance of software to the mobility experience, while simultaneously underlining the progress traditional OEMs need to make. This is about more than process transformation – it's about adopting a new way of working, new culture and new approach to talent (what talent to hire, how to find and develop it, etc.).

IAA MOBILITY is the leading global mobility platform. It connects innovators from all spectrums of mobility. Who do you want to network with in September and why?
Apart from our clients and technology partners, I'm very interested in meeting with new members of the growing mobility ecosystem, especially innovative startups and niche players who can add value and new, diverse, perspectives to the mobility landscape. I'm also interested in meeting semiconductor companies, as well as some of the new mobility services companies and those companies that have traditionally operated in industries such as telco and high tech, and are now increasingly active in automotive and mobility.

The world is fundamentally changing. Innovation and also the endeavors in the mobility sector are bigger than ever before. What is your vision of the world in 20 years?
My vision for the world in 20 years, is one where we have embedded sustainability into everything we do and are enjoying a people-entered era of safe, satisfying, and sustainability mobility – a future in which people of all means are able to enjoy flexible, frictionless and fulfilling mobility experiences that empower them to move, connect and thrive. For the industry and companies like Capgemini, this means re-affirming and acting boldly in our pursuit of sustainability – thinking innovatively and using new technologies and business models to speed up the industry’s transformation journey. And it means contributing to an affordable, ever-smarter, software-driven mobility ecosystem that’s centered around customer, with due care for the environment, and consideration for the people working in the industry.