Mircea Gradu becomes Chief Engineering Officer at Ballard Power Systems (BPLD). Mircea Gradu previously served as Director of Engineering and Quality at Hyundai Motor America.
A long experience in the automotive industry
Mircea Gradu has more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, especially in steering. Indeed, he previously led engineering and quality at Hyundai Motor America. He also worked for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as vice president of transmission.
He has also worked for Schaeffler Group and Daimler AG and served as Vice President of Automotive Programs at VelodyneLidar.
Randy MacEwen, CEO of BPLD, says of Mr. Gradu’s appointment:
“We are thrilled to welcome Mircea to the Ballard team. Mircea brings more than 25 years of experience in the automotive and commercial vehicle industry, with extensive knowledge of electric vehicles and powertrain development. His well-rounded technical capabilities will be critical to leading our product development as we plan for the next generation of low-cost, high-performance fuel cell engines.”
For his part, Mr. Gradu expresses his enthusiasm:
“I am excited to join Ballard as mobility rapidly evolves to meet the demands of the energy transition. I look forward to working with the Ballard team on the continued innovation of our fuel cell products and our drive to reach commercial scale.”
Mircea Gradu has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International and as a member of SAE and the FISITA Board.
Mr. Gradu also holds a doctorate in engineering from the Technical University of Stuttgart and an MSME degree. An assistant professor at the University of California Irvine, he has published several papers, obtained 56 patents and received the Edward N. Cole Award.
Mircea Gradu to collaborate with Kevin Colbow
In assuming this position, Mircea Gradu will work with Dr. Kevin Colbow, Ballard’s Chief Technology Officer.
Randy MacEwen spoke about this collaboration:
“Mircea’s strong background in powertrain, systems engineering and product development for commercialization at scale in the automotive industry will be highly complementary to Kevin’s deep experience and expertise in PEM fuel cell technology research and development. With growing market opportunities and a tipping point in our sights, we are excited that Kevin and Mircea will be working closely together to develop next generation fuel cell technology and zero-emission engines with industry-leading performance and cost.”
Dr. Colbow’s experience includes progressive technology leadership roles and he has served as CTO since 2019.
