2024 Annual Automotive Outlook

Thomas Alongi | National Automotive Practice Leader | UHY

Tom Alongi is a leader of the Audit and Assurance Practice, where he has been advising both public and private clients regarding their finances and operations for over 25 years. His extensive background in costing separates him from the typical auditor. Tom is the leader of the firm’s National Manufacturing Practice and is called upon to contribute thought leadership to various industry organizations. He has hosted the firm’s Manufacturing Outlook for more than 15 years. He is also a member of the national transaction services group, where he performs financial and operational due diligence, and has led a significant number of transactions over the past several years.

Dan Bruce | National Automotive Practice Leader | UHY

Dan Bruce is a Principal at UHY Consulting, providing strategy solutions that strengthen and transform companies. He is an experienced consultant who has advised start-ups, middle market, and global companies across many industry sectors. Dan has expertise in strategic planning, market analysis, financial modeling, M&A, operational excellence, and commercial due diligence. He develops results-oriented strategies for organizations using a structured, collaborative, data-driven approach. Dan’s deep understanding of executives’ challenges allows him to develop practical, customized, high-quality, and immediately applicable solutions that produce results.

Jeff Schuster | Global Vice President of Automotive Research | GlobalData PLC

Jeff Schuster has over 25 years of experience tracking, analyzing and forecasting vehicle sales and production volumes, as well as industry trends in powertrain, segmentation and future vehicles. His career has centered around the automotive industry, including automotive forecasting, market analysis and trends, due diligence work, future product activity, vehicle segmentation, and future mobility.

As the current group head for GlobalData PLC, he is responsible for the Global Automotive Intelligence Center and overseeing the Automotive Practice. He is also the current president of operations in the Americas at LMC Automotive. Schuster has also previously worked for J.D. Power as the executive director of automotive intelligence.

Charles Clevenger | Principal | UHY Consulting

Charles K. “Charlie” Clevenger is a principal in UHY Consulting, providing operational excellence solutions that strengthen and transform organizations.  His specialties include complex supply chain, procurement strategy and structure, operations management, total value management analysis, and solutions. He also has significant experience collaboratively integrating these areas into the overall business to optimize performance and financial results.

Ted Mabley | Director | UHY Consulting

Edward “Ted” Mabley has over 15 years of experience optimizing sales and business development operations, providing customer-specific solutions catering to a wide array of industries on a global scale. He works with OEMs, tier-one suppliers, and other manufacturing companies to create transparency in their cost process and develop vendor management programs to address relevant KPIs. His experience focus is in active cost management as per enterprise product costing procedures along with developing strategic business roadmaps, product vision, and sales strategies. Ted supports manufacturers in managing and optimizing their product costs, implementing cost management software, and strengthening their supply chain operations.

Tony Miller | Senior Manager of Product Program Cost Optimization | General Motors

With 25+ years of experience in the industry, he is a highly skilled professional with a diverse background in manufacturing, product development, finance and co$t estimating.

In manufacturing, Tony has demonstrated expertise in optimizing production processes, improving efficiency, and ensuring quality standards are met. He launched three new vehicles from cradle to grave and has a proven track record of implementing lean manufacturing principles and driving continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational performance.

While in product development, he successfully managed the entire product lifecycle, from concept ideation to commercialization, while ensuring alignment with customer needs and market trends. His strong analytical skills and attention to detail have contributed to the successful launch of several vehicles.

Tony has a solid background in finance, with experience in financial analysis, budgeting, and co$t management. He has a keen understanding of financial metrics and has effectively utilized financial data to drive strategic decision-making, commercial negotiations, and improved profitability. With this well-rounded skill set and cross-functional expertise, he possesses the ability to bridge the gap between manufacturing, product development, and finance, bringing a holistic perspective to push operational excellence and drive business performance.