Ballard Power Systems appoints Mircea Gradu as chief engineering officer
by CM Staff
Dr. Gradu says he is excited to join the company in a time where the energy sector is changing to meet the demands of a transition.
Ballard Power Systems Inc. logo (CNW Group/Ballard Power Systems Inc.)
VANCOUVER — Ballard Power Systems has appointed Mircea Gradu, PhD, FSAE, as chief engineering officer.
“We are excited to welcome Mircea to the Ballard team. Mircea brings over 25 years of experience in the automotive and commercial vehicle industry, with deep knowledge of electric vehicles and powertrain development. His well-rounded technical capabilities will be pivotal in leading our product development as we plan for the next generation of low-cost, high performance fuel cell engines,” said Randy MacEwen, Ballard’s president & CEO in a statement.
Dr. Gradu commented in Ballard’s announcement that he is excited to join the company in a time where the energy sector is changing to meet the demands of a transition.
Ballard says Dr. Gradu has a lengthy history operating at the C-suite level to develop products and deployments with leading global automotive OEMs and suppliers.
He previously led Engineering and Quality at Hyundai Motor America, served as vice president, transmission powertrain and driveline for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, as executive director of engineering at Timken Automotive, and in product development and engineering project management roles at Schaeffler Group and Daimler AG.
He most recently held the position of senior vice president, automotive programs at Velodyne Lidar, a provider of smart lidar technology solutions for vehicle autonomy.
A former president and chairman of the board of the Society of Automotive Engineers International, an SAE Fellow and FISITA Council, Dr. Gradu is also an adjunct professor at the University of California Irvine. He holds a Doctorate in Engineering from the Technical University of Stuttgart.
