The industry-leading experience of our members powers our work at the CCC. Today, we’re proud to welcome Glen Stone as the CCC’s new Technical Director and add to our consortium’s talent. Glen is an accomplished systems engineer with experience at global technology companies including Apple, Sony, Xperi and Samsung. His expertise in technology standards development will be instrumental in driving the CCC Digital Key forward.
We sat down with Glen to learn more about what brought him to the CCC, how he’s planning to facilitate communication across working groups, and what he’s most excited about in the CCC’s future.
What’s your background and why did you want to join the CCC?
I have a wide technical background in engineering management and have participated in developing many technology standards. I first worked with the CCC as a Samsung BoD representative and the Ecosystem Working Group chair. What brought me back to the CCC is my love for cars and my belief in the consortium’s vision. I’m excited about the direction automobiles are moving with CCC Digital Key and technologies pertaining to EVs, autonomous driving and ride-sharing services. The CCC is uniquely positioned to shape the future of vehicle-to-smart device connectivity as we represent the majority of leaders in the global automotive and smart device industries. CCC Member Companies actively collaborate and bring their own expertise to accomplish our goals of reducing market fragmentation and increasing interoperability. As Technical Director, I’m eager to work with members and drive our progress.
What excites you most about the CCC and CCC Digital Key?
That it works! A lot of hard engineering work happens at the CCC. My immediate goal is to dive into the certification program to help with a smooth launch when the rubber hits the road. I want to make sure we’re addressing interoperability challenges and creating the most consistent CCC Digital Key user experience possible. In this next phase, we have to think like the consumer. For example, if I’m a CCC Digital Key user, what do I expect to experience when walking up to my car or driving my car into the garage? My background has a lot to do with user experience, so I’m constantly analyzing how we can develop a successful experience from a customer standpoint.
How do you plan to facilitate collaboration across the consortium?
A global consortium is very different from working within one company. At the CCC, we must communicate across working groups consisting of worldwide member representation to achieve a universal standard with a great user experience. I want to make sure our use cases can be turned into technical specifications and that those specifications can be certified. That happens through collaboration across the consortium and with strong member engagement. In my experience, membership is driven by a successful user experience. We want to ensure the CCC Digital Key is seamless and secure to promote widespread market adoption and encourage more leaders to join our work at the CCC.
Where do you see the CCC in the next five years?
I believe the CCC Digital Key will be broadly adopted across automotive OEMs and mobile device makers in the next five years. CCC Member Companies will submit new use cases to expand functionality. Consumers will see the CCC Digital Key as a ship on a steady course with no sudden changes in direction — the experience will be convenient, secure, and have extensive capabilities. As for the future work in CCC, I think we’ll be looking for new expansions and trends to pursue with the connected car. Our ultimate goal is to improve consumers’ connected car experiences through industry standards for sustainable and flexible ecosystems and I know we will work continuously toward that goal.
Anything else to know about you as you come into the Technical Director role?
I like to keep things on track to reach our end goals. And I want to drive to the endpoint fairly and equitably for everyone who contributes to our work. CCC Members should know that I’ll be an active participant and listener. I will work to understand the inner workings of the CCC so I can facilitate communication across the consortium with a clear path toward reaching our goals.
And one last question, what do you like to do for fun outside of work?
At my heart, I’m a maker. I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains and even though I’m five minutes from Silicon Valley, I heat my house with wood and get water from a well. I’m constantly fixing things, which requires me to continually learn new tasks, for example, welding steel and aluminum. I build and fly remote control airplanes that are electric-powered to allow the freedom to fly anywhere without disturbing others. I’m also an amateur photographer and I have a hobby of tinkering with cars, including performance tuning.
We appreciate Glen’s time and look forward to experiencing the impact he makes as Technical Director. If you’re interested in learning more about the CCC’s working groups and how to get involved, visit https://carconnectivity.org/how-we-work/.
Glen Stone, CCC Technical Director
