Car Connectivity Consortium Expands Leadership Team and Board to Support Rapid Growth of Digital Key Ecosystem

Alysia Johnson joins as Vice President; James Schuessler named Technical Director; Pierre Girard of Thales and Yu Lei of Xiaomi join board

BEAVERTON, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Car Connectivity Consortium® (CCC) announced today the appointment of two Members of Staff to join the organization’s leadership team and two industry leaders, Thales and Xiaomi, engaging on the Board. Alysia Johnson will serve as Vice President, and James Schuessler as Technical Director. The expanded leadership team will help accelerate the ecosystem for the CCC Digital Key standard, which enables anyone to use a mobile device to store, authenticate, and share Digital Keys for their vehicle.

As the Vice President of CCC, Johnson will serve as a catalyst for the organization’s growth, with responsibilities for streamlining and overseeing day-to-day operations and working closely with the Board of Directors on strategic planning and direction. She has served as Executive Director and strategic advisor to several technology consortia over the past 25 years, including the NFC Forum, IOWN Global Forum and Automotive Edge Computing Consortium.

Schuessler will serve as Technical Director of CCC after serving as the consortium’s Digital Key Task Group Chair and Technical Working Group Chair. As Technical Director, Schuessler will collaborate with the Working Groups to drive global technologies for smartphone-centric car connectivity solutions. He spent the past decade in various roles with Samsung, including as Director of Standards Strategy and Vehicle Communications and as Director of Technology Standardization, Communications.

“We are excited to grow the CCC leadership team with executives of high reputation and professionalism,” said Daniel Knobloch, President, CCC. “This development is crucial for meeting the industry expectation of CCC being the central hub of a new Digital Key Ecosystem gaining strong market recognition in China, Europe and the USA.”

CCC welcomes new members to Board of Directors

The CCC has also announced that the French digital security company Thales and the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi have assigned representatives to the Board in 2022.

Thales, as a global leader in advanced technologies, invests in digital and “deep tech” innovations to build a future of trust for societies. In the Automotive world, Thales provides its customers (OEM and Tier1) with masterclass Connectivity and Cybersecurity solutions.

Xiaomi is one of the world’s leading smartphone companies. It has also established the world’s leading consumer AIoT (AI+IoT) platform. “With the approaching of an era when everything become intelligently connected, we believe that a global standard for smart phone-car connectivity is indispensable for both the automobile and the phone ecosystems. Together with all ecosystem partners, Xiaomi is committed to promoting the development and implementation of CCC technical specifications, including digital car keys,” said Zeng Xuezhong, President of Xiaomi Smartphone.

They join charter members Apple, BMW, General Motors, Google, Honda, Hyundai, LG, Mercedes-Benz, NXP, Panasonic, Samsung, and Volkswagen with representatives on the Board. Working together with its 150+ members, the CCC represents strong industry support from the majority of the Vehicle and Smartphone industry, as well as broad ecosystem support from component, test and sub-system manufacturers.

Resources:
• White paper: CCC Digital Key – The Future of Vehicle Access

• Chinese Version: Car Connectivity Consortium expands leadership team and Board to support rapid growth of Digital Key ecosystem

About the Car Connectivity Consortium:

The Car Connectivity Consortium® (CCC) is a cross-industry organization advancing technologies for smartphone-to-car connectivity solutions. The CCC represents a large portion of the global automotive and smartphone industries with more than 150 member companies. The CCC member companies include smartphone and vehicle manufacturers, automotive tier-1 suppliers, silicon/chip vendors, security product suppliers, and more. Its Board of Directors includes individuals from charter member companies Apple, BMW, General Motors, Google, Honda, Hyundai, LG, Mercedes-Benz, NXP, Panasonic, Samsung, Thales, Volkswagen and Xiaomi. For more information, visit www.carconnectivity.org.