Our Team
Advisory Board
Anthony Manzo is the Founder and Managing Partner of Crescent Point Holdings, a permanent capital holding company focused on investing in and building critical businesses with long-term horizons. With two decades of experience in private equity and operational leadership, he specializes in industrial technology, manufacturing, specialty materials, and consumer sectors, with a focus on compounding growth across decades.
Previously, Anthony co-founded Re:Build Manufacturing, an evergreen holding company building America’s next generation industrial company, where he led investment strategy and served on the executive team. Prior to that, he co-founded Cannon Capital, a private equity firm, and held investment roles at American Capital and Vance Street Capital.
Throughout his career, Anthony has served in various interim executive positions, including CFO, COO, and CCO, and has led operational turnarounds, bringing a practitioner’s perspective to investment and strategic decisions. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Santa Clara University.
Barbara Frenkel is a distinguished automotive executive best known for her trailblazing leadership at Porsche AG, where she served as Member of the Executive Board responsible for Procurement from 2021 to 2025, becoming the first woman in the company’s history to hold that position.
With a career spanning more than three decades, Barbara has played a pivotal role in shaping supply-chain excellence, sustainability initiatives, and global supplier partnerships across the mobility industry. During her tenure, she oversaw an annual purchasing volume exceeding €15 billion and successfully steered Porsche through industry-wide challenges such as semiconductor shortages, strengthening collaboration and resilience within the company’s ecosystem.
Born in Hof, Germany, Barbara studied Chemistry at the University of Bayreuth and Rubber Technology at the University of Hanover. Her early career included leadership roles at Helsa-Werke, Valeo Thermal Systems, and TRW Automotive before joining Porsche in 2001. Over two decades, she led departments spanning Quality Systems, Training, Sales Network Development, and European Sales, before her appointment to the Executive Board.
Today, Barbara Frenkel continues to advocate for responsible leadership, innovation, and gender diversity in the automotive sector.
Bernhard Maier is the Founder and CEO of Maier Ventures GmbH, an Investment and Consulting Company. Before founding his company, he was part of Volkswagen’s top management team. Between 2015 and 2020, Mr. Maier was the CEO of Škoda Automotive, where he led the ‘Strategy 2025+’ initiative, focusing on new markets, SUVs, and BEVs. Mr. Maier transformed the organization, established synergies, and optimized the supply chain.
Under Mr. Maier’s leadership, Škoda recorded a revenue and profit growth of 60% and 100%, respectively. Prior to Škoda, Mr. Maier was a board member of Porsche AG and the CEO of Porsche Deutschland GmbH. He has served in leadership and management positions at BMW Group, Wallhäuser Anlagen Gesellschaft, and Nixdorf Computer AG
Mr. Mair has a Master’s Degree in Automobile Mechanics, a degree in business administration, and he has completed the Advanced Management Program from Harvard University.
Gilles Le Borgne is a highly respected automotive engineering executive with deep expertise in vehicle engineering, product development, and the technologies shaping the car of the future. With more than 37 years of experience across the PSA and Renault Groups, he is widely regarded as one of France’s foremost authorities in automotive engineering and design.
Gilles Le Borgne began his career at PSA Group, where he spent over three decades in progressively senior technical and leadership roles. After eight years in research and development focused on materials and advanced technologies, he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Citroën C3 Phase I platform. He subsequently led advanced vehicle concepts for seven years, contributing to the development of next-generation vehicle architectures and innovation programs.
In 2010, he was appointed Head of the Pre-Projects Department. In March 2013, he was nominated Executive Vice President, Engineering at PSA Group, overseeing global engineering strategy and execution. In September 2016, his responsibilities were expanded when he assumed the role of Executive Vice President, Quality and Engineering, a position he held until May 2019, leading both engineering excellence and performance across the group.
In January 2020, Gilles Le Borgne joined Renault Group as Director of Engineering and member of the Group Executive Committee. He subsequently served as Director of Technology (Chief Technology Officer) until November 2024, where he played a central role in defining and driving Renault’s long-term technology and innovation roadmap. He continued to support the group as Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer through the end of 2025.
In parallel with his corporate roles, Gilles Le Borgne has contributed significantly to the broader automotive ecosystem. From January 2015 to May 2018, he served as President of the Automotive Technical Committee (CTA) within the PFA (Automotive Industry Platform), helping shape industry-wide technical priorities. His achievements have been recognized with Automotive News Europe “Eurostar” awards in 2018 and 2021 in the Product Development Executive category, and he was named Automotive Man of the Year 2019 by Journal de l’Automobile. Since March 2025, he has been a member of the French Academy of Technologies.
Gilles Le Borgne is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Céramiques Industrielles and holds a Master of Advanced Studies (DEA) in Materials from the University of Limoges. He is a French citizen and is fluent in French and English.
Hiroto Saikawa is a globally respected automotive leader whose career at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. spanned more than four decades, distinguished by strategic leadership, operational excellence, and deep global experience. After graduating from the Faculty of Economics at The University of Tokyo, he joined Nissan in 1977 and quickly rose through key leadership positions across purchasing, manufacturing, and regional operations.
As Executive Vice President and later Chief Competitive Officer, Saikawa led major initiatives to strengthen Nissan’s R&D, supply chain, and manufacturing competitiveness worldwide. In 2017, he became President and Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., guiding the company through a period of global transformation, advancing electrification, and reinforcing efficiency across its global network.
He also served on the boards of Renault S.A., Dongfeng Motor Ltd., and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, and as Chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) from 2016 to 2018, where he championed innovation, sustainability, and the future of mobility in Japan and beyond.
Currently, Hiroto Saikawa acts as an advisor to several venture companies in Japan, supporting next-generation mobility and technology enterprises with his strategic insight and leadership experience. He also serves on the Board of Advisors at Caresoft Global, where he contributes his global perspective to help advance the company’s mission of enabling smarter, more efficient, and sustainable automotive solutions.
Jean-Christophe Kugler is a Board member at Ascendance Flight Technologies.
In the 35 years Kugler spent at the Renault group, he was instrumental in the group’s transition to the new energy vehicles segment. He was the Region Chairman at Renault for Europe, Eurasia, and Euromed-African regions between 2011-2019. He had led several programs for Light Commercial vans, A & B segment, and Small vans for Renault as Program Director and Senior Vice President.
Kugler has a Master’s degree in Engineering Robotics and Mechanics from Ecole centrale de Nantes, France, and he has completed executive programs from Carnegie Mellon University and INSEAD, France.
Jifeng has made substantial contributions to the global automotive industry and, more recently, as the head of AI and Digitisation for Great Wall Motors (GWM). Leading AI and software teams, he has AI production teams, including advanced Automated Driving systems (L2 to L4), computer vision teams in IVI for driver monitoring systems, speech systems, and data AI teams. He also led the AI-driven enterprise digitalization team to integrate AI, digitalization, and automation in GWM IT systems, including AI+development, AI+manufacturing, AI+supply chain, etc.
In chip and computing innovation, besides leading the first Qualcomm SA8155P IVI project in China, launched in GWM’s Coffee01 and other vehicles, he was also leading the Qualcomm SA8775P platform project as the 1st ADAS-IVI integrated SOC project. His experience covers QNX and Android frameworks, HW design, and the semiconductor supply chain. He has also led ADAS SOC projects with NVIDIA, HUAWEI, and local chips and, since 2022, has been pushing forward RISC-V auto-grade chip development in the automobile industry.
Jifeng’s industrial achievements include winning the Annual Industrial Expert of EV and AI award from SAE China in 2023 and an Outstanding Contribution Award from the Beijing Government in 2020. He is involved in policymaking and is an expert think tank for Beijing and Shanghai.
Leading generative AI, Jifeng’s AI Define Company project at Great Wall Motor enhanced efficiency and productivity, saving over 6 million working hours.
Jifeng enjoys reading papers on cutting-edge technologies, AI, and Robotics. He also likes to travel, meet new people, and experience the latest automotive technology.
Mr. Calabrese has spent his entire professional life with General Motors and brings over 35 years of experience in the global automotive sector. He has played several global roles across engineering, product development, quality, purchasing, and strategy. Mr. Calabrese has lead engineering teams across five continents and was a member of the Supervisory Board for Opel Europe and has driven coordinated engineering and manufacturing launch strategies for global vehicle programs.
Among the several leadership roles that Mr. Calabrese played; he was on the Board Directors of two China Joint Ventures for General Motors. More recently, Mr. Calabrese was the Vice President, Global Vehicle Engineering, and President of GM, Global Technology Operations, where he led over 16,000 engineers across 5 continents with an annual budget of $4Bn.
Mr. Calabrese is a Mechanical Engineer from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has obtained his Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University and he is also a Six Sigma Black belt.
Mr. Matthias Wissmann serves as a Partner of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. Mr. Wissmann has served as the President of the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA).
He served as the President of the German Automotive Industry Federation (VDA). Mr. Wissmann is Vice President of the Association of the German Industry (BDI).
Mr. Wissmann was a Government Minister, Member of the German Parliament and Chairman of the committee for business and technology, Berlin. He was a Minister for Transport and Research in Germany. He serves as a Deputy Chairman of Seeburger AG.
He was the German Federal Secretary of Transportation. He serves as a Member of Advisory Board at EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG. He has been a Member of the Supervisory Board at Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft since August 29, 2008.
He has been a Member of Advisory Board at Freitag & Co. GmbH since June 1, 2016. Mr. Wissmann served as a Member of International Advisory Board at Rolls Royce Holdings plc (alternative name Rolls Royce Group plc). He served as a Member of Advisory Board at Landesbank Baden-Württemberg until December 31, 2013. He was a Minister (retired) and Attorney at law. He studied law, economics, and politics in Tübingen
Michael Calabrese is President of Control System Integrators (CSI), a leading industrial automation firm and co-founder of The Calo Group, an investment firm focused on industrial technology companies. CSI designs and integrates machine vision, control systems, product traceability and custom industrial IT software solutions for clients across industries, including the automotive and material handling sectors. Mr. Calabrese previously was an investment banker at Barclays, advising executives, private entities and private equity firms on capital market, macroeconomic and corporate strategies in the global industrial space. He structured and executed over $42 billion of announced mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions during his time at Barclays.
Mr. Calabrese began his career at General Motors in corporate finance. He received his BA from the University of Michigan and MBA from Harvard Business School, with Distinction.
Tony Brown is a highly respected and well-known expert in the global automotive industry. Since joining Ford in 1999, Mr. Brown served in various leadership roles across global purchasing. In 2008, he became Ford’s Group Vice President, Global Purchasing, with the responsibility of about $90 Bn of production and non-production procurement for Ford worldwide.
From 1997 to 1999 Mr. Brown served in leadership positions at United Technologies Corporation, including as its Vice President, Supply Management. From 1991 to 1997 he served as Executive Director, Purchasing, and Transportation at QMS Inc.
In 2008, Rainbow/PUSH honored Mr. Brown with the “Keep Hope Alive” Award. In 2006 he received the National Action Network’s “Keeper of the Dream” Award.
Rod Lache is one of the automotive industry’s most respected analysts, bringing over 30 years of experience advising investors, automakers, and policymakers on global industry trends. He served as Managing Director and Senior Analyst at Wolfe Research, LLC, and previously spent more than two decades at Deutsche Bank, where he led U.S. auto sector coverage.
Widely recognized for his foresight on transformative shifts such as electrification and AI-driven mobility, Rod was inducted into the Institutional Investor Magazine Hall of Fame in 2021, having been ranked the #1 U.S. Auto Analyst by investors for more than 10 years. Rod holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and International Business from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
At Caresoft Global, he contributes his deep strategic insights to support the company’s mission of delivering benchmarking excellence and cost reduction innovation to OEMs and suppliers worldwide.
Executive Leadership
Mathew Vachaparampil grew up in an entrepreneurial family in India. He completed his undergraduate Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Madras and did his Master’s in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a full scholarship. After completing his MS in 1993, Mathew commenced his career in the Management Leadership program at Case New Holland (CNHi), a FIAT Group Company.
During his 14 years at FIAT Group, he has worked in Engineering, Manufacturing, Business Development, Marketing, Parts and Service, and Purchasing. He has traveled to over 80 countries and speaks seven international languages. He was an international expatriate on four continents for eight years.
After several great years with CNHi, Mathew joined Caresoft Global as CEO. Mathew’s global experience, credibility, and ability to build and nurture relationships at all levels have helped Caresoft grow exponentially and emerge as a world leader in automotive benchmarking, cost reduction programs, and engineering services.
Mathew has pioneered digital twin-driven benchmarking for the automotive industry, fundamentally changing the benchmarking value chain from data-driven activities to one that delivers actionable results. Major auto OEMs and their supply base widely use Caresoft’s Digital Twins for competitive assessment.
Building on this foundation, Mathew has also pioneered the development of Eureka, the world’s first patent-pending material cost reduction ideas platform. Eureka combines Caresoft’s deep benchmarking expertise to deliver structured, actionable cost reduction opportunities at scale. To date, Caresoft has provided over $3.5 billion worth of cost reduction opportunities to the automotive industry, and Eureka represents the next generation of that capability.
Caresoft supports strategic cost reduction programs that save millions of dollars by optimizing technology and improving design fitness.
He lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and two children.
Mathew is an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and is also a member of YPO (Young Presidents Organization). He is a Board Member of the YPO Automotive Network.
Terry Woychowski began his career with General Motors immediately after graduating from Michigan Technological University (MTU) in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He had a distinguished career at GM, notably serving for 12 years as the Full-Size Truck Vehicle Chief Engineer—a role in which his products earned numerous prestigious industry awards. He is a four-time recipient of the GM Chairman’s Honors and received GM’s North America Achievement of Excellence Award for developing the all-wheel-drive viscous-coupled transfer case used in GM’s midsize, truck-based vans.
After retiring from GM in 2012, Terry joined American Axle and Manufacturing as Senior Vice President of Engineering and Quality, and later became Vice President of Advanced Technology Development at LINK Engineering Company in Plymouth, Michigan.
Throughout his career, Terry has served on various boards, including SGM in China and The Engineering Society of Detroit, where he served as President. He also chaired the Board of Trustees at MTU and is a lifetime trustee of the Rackham Foundation.
Terry has taken part in several humanitarian missions—to Albania and Kosovo following the Kosovo War, and to Haiti after the devastating earthquake. His family’s charitable organization sponsored two MTU Senior Design Capstone projects that developed and deployed human-powered grain mills in sub-Saharan Africa.
During the recession, Terry co-organized an Advanced Propulsion training program at MTU to help retrain displaced engineers. The program was remotely broadcast to the Detroit area. In recognition of his efforts, he was the inaugural recipient of the Michigan Tech Alumni Humanitarian Award in 2011 and was inducted into the Academy of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics in 2007. He also attended the Advanced Management Program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and received an Honorary Doctor of Business Management degree from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2003.
At Caresoft, Terry plays a strategic role in strengthening customer relationships, developing next-generation solutions, and mentoring the global leadership team.
Richard comes with extensive experience of over 20 years in varied industries. He was instrumental in setting up off-shore development/design centers for many OEMs globally through the various organizations that he was associated with.
Richard started working with Caresoft since its inception and plays an integral role in the growth of Caresoft across competencies and geographies worldwide with both new and existing strategic customers. In his previous role as CTO, Richard led global technology, innovation, and strategy. He drove the global product strategy. He brings a wealth of experience in outsourcing the automotive, agricultural, and construction equipment, heavy engineering, and information technology sectors.
Currently, Richard leads Global Sales as a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), where he owns and drives sales and customer acquisition strategies across all regions, partners, and agents.
Arjun graduated in mechanical engineering from the University of Mysore, Karnataka, India, and started his career in 1992. He has worked in the automotive and manufacturing sectors at Visteon Automotive Systems and Delphi Automotive Systems for over 13 years. His role in manufacturing was focused on areas such as manufacturing costing, manufacturing planning, process design, manufacturing documentation, interfacing with suppliers, development of machinery & tooling, and setting up new product lines with exposure to lean manufacturing and quality engineering.
Using his deep-rooted experience in core manufacturing, Arjun moved into manufacturing engineering services and later handled processes around procurement and other domains for the past several years. While expanding his domain knowledge and engineering skills, Arjun also gained a good understanding of business finance and its drivers in the service industry. This helped him move rapidly into a leadership role as Vice President of a leading IT Services company. He was responsible for service delivery and focused on providing solutions in the engineering domain, Procure to Pay (P2P) BPO functions. He also had a brief stint at Cognizant Technology Solutions before joining Caresoft Global.
Before his current role, Arjun was the Vice President of Global Operations. He drove the operations strategy for Caresoft and provided leadership in establishing and sustaining delivery excellence for global customers. Also, Arjun was leading several strategic initiatives that strengthened Caresoft’s internal controls and business processes, which impacted both customers and the enterprise.
In his current role, Arjun focuses on establishing the rigor, cadence, and discipline of Caresoft’s global financial processes and reporting. He formulates early warning systems to ensure all functional owners are adequately informed on proper metrics for corrective actions.
Arul is a Mechanical Engineer with over 28 years of experience in the areas of operations, corporate finance, business development, manufacturing, and quality engineering. He is an all-rounder, a professional who has seen several ups and downs in businesses. He has travelled to several countries to accomplish business and statutory requirements. He has an in-depth knowledge of global compliance norms relative to taxes, EXIM and rebates.
He has spent more than 15 years working for a major global Tier -1 auto component supplier and has been part of Caresoft since its inception.
Manoj is a Mechanical Engineer and comes with an extensive experience of over 20 years. He has played multiple roles in product development, manufacturing, supply chain, product line marketing, and benchmarking. Manoj joined Caresoft in 2014 and has played an instrumental role in the growth of the Manufacturing engineering services and Benchmarking domain. Prior to that, he worked with John Deere and Tata Motors. Manoj understands the North American industry landscape and derives solutions to help customers achieve their business objectives.
Manoj leads North American sales across Benchmarking data subscriptions and cost reduction programs and anchors several key customer relations, including major OEMs in North America.
Prideep Subramaniam is an Engineer with over 15 years of experience handling Business Development for diverse segments such as Engineering Services, Products, Automotive Benchmarking, Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing, and Technical Publications. Prideep joined Caresoft during the formative years in 2010 and has been instrumental in establishing and improving the Business Development function and making it a well-established integrator between Sales, Operations, and Finance, facilitating Caresoft’s growth.Having worked in various geographies, Prideep understands the industry landscape and derives solutions that help customers achieve their business and strategic objectives.
In his current role, Prideep is responsible for Caresoft’s growth in Asia Pacific and the Middle East by forging strategic ties with key customers and expanding the business with existing customers.
Anita Burke started her career with General Motors and for 28 years held various positions in product design, aftersales engineering, vehicle performance, and most recently as the Global Vehicle Chief Engineer for Mid-Size Trucks and Commercial Vans. She is a dynamic leader with a record of success in vehicle vision/ strategy, developing and launching products for global markets. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan.
She joined Caresoft Global as a subject matter expert and plays a key role in driving global cost reduction programs.
Sandeep Shetty is an Automobile Engineer from the University of Bangalore, India. He has over 30 years of overall industry experience, with 20 years managing engineering services operations in automotive, agriculture, construction equipment, and aerospace domains. Sandeep worked with Fiat India and Mahindra in the after-sales division, focusing on technical support for customers, dealership productivity, and profitability.
He joined Caresoft in 2012, managing the Parts Engineering business in the USA for 2 years, and moved to India to head India Operation from 2014 to 2018. With his passion for automotive, Sandeep took on the responsibility of Global Cost Reduction Operations. As an automotive specialist, his role includes working closely with Subject Matter Experts, supporting idea generation, defining global common standards, building customer relationships, understanding their needs, and designing and delivering projects with cost reduction.
Prior to Caresoft, Sandeep also worked in Warranty Claims Processing and Engineering Services and had a brief stint with Cognizant managing Aerospace MRO activities.
Today, Sandeep is in charge of various global Cost Reduction Programs that requires strategic engagements with OEMs and suppliers.
James Boggust is a highly accomplished business development executive currently serving as the Vice President of Business Development at Caresoft Global. In this strategic leadership role, assumed in February 2024, he is responsible for driving the company’s growth initiatives and cultivating key partnerships within the Automotive, On-Highway, Agriculture & Construction Equipment sectors. Caresoft Global is a prominent global provider of comprehensive engineering solutions to these industries.
Prior to joining Caresoft Global, James held a series of progressively responsible positions at Jaguar Land Rover (2017-2024). These roles included leadership of the value engineering team and the teardown team. James successfully led cost transformation and had a management role in cost engineering. His tenure at Jaguar Land Rover reflects a consistent focus on optimizing value, driving cost efficiency, and providing critical insights through competitive analysis.
In addition to this OEM experience, James also brings significant tier 1 experience in key account management from his time at SMR Automotive Mirrors UK Ltd (2011-2017). In this capacity, he was instrumental in managing and expanding relationships with key automotive OEM’s. His earlier professional history includes roles as Senior Relationship Manager at Lombard (2008-2011), Automotive Segment Manager and Area Sales Manager at Piab (2006-2008), and Area Sales Engineer and Sales Liaison Engineer at Pall Corporation (2003-2006), demonstrating a consistent trajectory of increasing responsibility in sales, relationship management, and business development.
James holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southampton (1999-2003). This strong technical foundation underpins his strategic approach and understanding of the engineering complexities within the industries Caresoft Global serves.
Doreen Evans is a seasoned Global HR Leader with over 20 years of experience across manufacturing and engineering services organizations. In her role as Global Head of HR, she partners with leadership teams worldwide to drive workforce transformation, organizational effectiveness, and scalable people strategies that align with business priorities.
Doreen brings deep expertise in HR Business Partnering, Talent Management, Change Management, HR Digitization, Global Mobility, and Organizational Design. She has a strong track record of building future-ready organizations by embedding governance frameworks, streamlining HR operations, and championing employee experience across multi-location, multi-cultural environments.
With significant exposure to GCC operating environments and AI-enabled HR practices, Doreen leads the evolution of HR from a support function to a strategic business enabler — ensuring people strategy is integrated at the heart of every key business decision. Her approach combines operational excellence with a genuine commitment to leadership development, workforce planning, and creating clarity and culture across teams.
Doreen holds a Master’s Degree from Savitribai Phule Pune University and is based in Pune, India.
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Caresoft Global is the world leader in automotive benchmarking and cost reduction products and programs. Our platforms — Iceberg and Eureka — deliver intelligence that automotive OEMs, commercial vehicle manufacturers, off-highway producers, and their suppliers rely on to make faster, sharper decisions across product development, cost optimization, and manufacturing.
With over 200 vehicles benchmarked and more than $3.5 billion in cost reduction opportunities identified, we combine deep engineering expertise with purpose-built technology to turn benchmarking data into actionable outcomes — accelerating R&D programs, informing growth strategies, and driving measurable cost performance.
