Arlen Orchard
California Mobility Center
CMC Board Chair
Arlen was previously Chief Executive Officer & General Manager of SMUD until his retirement in October 2020. He has also previously served on the Alliance to Save Energy 50X50 Transportation Commission which was charged with envisioning regulatory, policy, infrastructure and investment pathways to advance clean transportation transformation.
Arlen Orchard is a retired Chief Executive Officer & General Manager of SMUD. As CEO, he led the sixth largest community-owned electric utility in the nation. Mr. Orchard became CEO in 2014, after serving as SMUD’s General Counsel since 2001. Mr. Orchard serves as the President of the California Municipal Utilities Association; on the board of directors and executive committee of the Large Public Power Council; and on the board of directors of the American Public Power Association. He serves on the boards of directors of numerous Sacramento nonprofit and economic development organizations, including the Greater Sacramento Economic Council and Valley Vision.
California Mobility Center
CMC Board Chair
Arlen was previously Chief Executive Officer & General Manager of SMUD until his retirement in October 2020. He has also previously served on the Alliance to Save Energy 50X50 Transportation Commission which was charged with envisioning regulatory, policy, infrastructure and investment pathways to advance clean transportation transformation.
Arlen Orchard is a retired Chief Executive Officer & General Manager of SMUD. As CEO, he led the sixth largest community-owned electric utility in the nation. Mr. Orchard became CEO in 2014, after serving as SMUD’s General Counsel since 2001. Mr. Orchard serves as the President of the California Municipal Utilities Association; on the board of directors and executive committee of the Large Public Power Council; and on the board of directors of the American Public Power Association. He serves on the boards of directors of numerous Sacramento nonprofit and economic development organizations, including the Greater Sacramento Economic Council and Valley Vision.
Paul Lau
SMUD
CEO & General Manager
Paul Lau, who previously served as SMUD’s Chief Grid Strategy & Operations Officer, was named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & General Manager in October 2020. He reports to the SMUD Board of Directors. As CEO, he leads the sixth largest community-owned electric utility in the nation serving a population of 1.5 million residents and managing a $1.7 billion budget.
SMUD
CEO & General Manager
Paul Lau, who previously served as SMUD’s Chief Grid Strategy & Operations Officer, was named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & General Manager in October 2020. He reports to the SMUD Board of Directors. As CEO, he leads the sixth largest community-owned electric utility in the nation serving a population of 1.5 million residents and managing a $1.7 billion budget.
Robert Tiderington
Brightdrop/General Motors
Head of Strategic Partnerships
Bob Tiderington is Head of Business Development & Partnerships at BrightDrop, the new electric delivery and logistics business from General Motors, where he is responsible for creating a variety of business opportunities which will contribute to and benefit BrightDrop’s business growth.
Prior to his current role, Tiderington was a Senior Manager within GM’s Innovation & Growth team where he was Business Lead for a project called Smart Cargo, focused on developing solutions for delivery and logistics companies. This led to a new business unit called eDelivery - the internal organization which launched publicly in January 2021 as BrightDrop.
In addition, he was previously responsible for developing GM’s urban mobility strategy on the company’s Urban Active Solutions team, where he helped to create solutions like Maven, a car-sharing and ride-sharing business. Throughout his work with urban mobility, Tiderington has developed a personal mission to help build Detroit as the “mobility” city where a variety of unique and convenient mobility solutions can enhance peoples’ lives.
Tiderington began his career in 1996 as a Business Analyst at the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center. Throughout his 20+ year career at GM, Tiderington has held different positions within Product Planning & Development, Marketing, Corporate Development and Global Connected Consumer groups. He is also a Strategic Advisor to two different start-ups in the mobility space, Edwards Ridecare and Airspace Experience Technologies.
Tiderington received a BA in Sociology from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from University of Detroit-Mercy, with a focus in Marketing. He resides in Metropolitan Detroit with his family. Outside of work, Tiderington is an avid golfer, college football fan and is an Officer of the athletic booster club for his children’s high school.
Brightdrop/General Motors
Head of Strategic Partnerships
Bob Tiderington is Head of Business Development & Partnerships at BrightDrop, the new electric delivery and logistics business from General Motors, where he is responsible for creating a variety of business opportunities which will contribute to and benefit BrightDrop’s business growth.
Prior to his current role, Tiderington was a Senior Manager within GM’s Innovation & Growth team where he was Business Lead for a project called Smart Cargo, focused on developing solutions for delivery and logistics companies. This led to a new business unit called eDelivery - the internal organization which launched publicly in January 2021 as BrightDrop.
In addition, he was previously responsible for developing GM’s urban mobility strategy on the company’s Urban Active Solutions team, where he helped to create solutions like Maven, a car-sharing and ride-sharing business. Throughout his work with urban mobility, Tiderington has developed a personal mission to help build Detroit as the “mobility” city where a variety of unique and convenient mobility solutions can enhance peoples’ lives.
Tiderington began his career in 1996 as a Business Analyst at the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center. Throughout his 20+ year career at GM, Tiderington has held different positions within Product Planning & Development, Marketing, Corporate Development and Global Connected Consumer groups. He is also a Strategic Advisor to two different start-ups in the mobility space, Edwards Ridecare and Airspace Experience Technologies.
Tiderington received a BA in Sociology from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from University of Detroit-Mercy, with a focus in Marketing. He resides in Metropolitan Detroit with his family. Outside of work, Tiderington is an avid golfer, college football fan and is an Officer of the athletic booster club for his children’s high school.
Alberto Ayala
Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
CEO
Alberto has nearly 30 years of professional experience in industry, government, and academia. He is currently Executive Director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District and Adjunct Professor at West Virginia University. He is also former Deputy Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board. Trained as a mechanical engineer with B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Davis, Alberto has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and reports. He is a contributor to the book “Ambient Combustion Ultrafine Particles and Health” and is working on “Three Forks in the Road, the Volkswagen diesel cheating scandal,” an upcoming book about his role in the VW case.
Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
CEO
Alberto has nearly 30 years of professional experience in industry, government, and academia. He is currently Executive Director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District and Adjunct Professor at West Virginia University. He is also former Deputy Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board. Trained as a mechanical engineer with B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Davis, Alberto has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and reports. He is a contributor to the book “Ambient Combustion Ultrafine Particles and Health” and is working on “Three Forks in the Road, the Volkswagen diesel cheating scandal,” an upcoming book about his role in the VW case.
Christoph Deutskens
PEM Motion
CEO
Christoph is CEO of PEM Group, one of the leading mobility incubators in Germany with over € 30m capital raised, over 250 employees in the network, and an international investor network. Additionally, Christoph is CEO of PEM Motion, an international engineering and consulting service provider. The focus of PEM Motion is on e-mobility components as well as the industrialization of mobility products. Prior to his role at PEM, Christoph was part of the first team to start StreetScooter, a company bought by Deutsche Post DHL that has produced over 20,000 electric vehicles in Germany.
Designing the value creation process for disruptive products was the topic of Christoph’s Phd thesis at RWTH Aachen University. He graduated with a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University and with a Master in Industrial Engineering at Tsinghua University Beijing. Christoph was scholar of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
PEM Motion
CEO
Christoph is CEO of PEM Group, one of the leading mobility incubators in Germany with over € 30m capital raised, over 250 employees in the network, and an international investor network. Additionally, Christoph is CEO of PEM Motion, an international engineering and consulting service provider. The focus of PEM Motion is on e-mobility components as well as the industrialization of mobility products. Prior to his role at PEM, Christoph was part of the first team to start StreetScooter, a company bought by Deutsche Post DHL that has produced over 20,000 electric vehicles in Germany.
Designing the value creation process for disruptive products was the topic of Christoph’s Phd thesis at RWTH Aachen University. He graduated with a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University and with a Master in Industrial Engineering at Tsinghua University Beijing. Christoph was scholar of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
