Patrice Reilhac is Director Research & Innovation for the Comfort & Driving Assistance Business Group at Valeo, a leading worldwide Tier 1 supplier of components and systems for the automotive industry. Patrice is currently leading an international innovation team in charge of both the development of advanced systems and the investigation of their market potential. Besides OEM concept phases, end user focus group, customer clinics and Internet surveys are used to explore and validate future market needs. Patrice has been with Valeo for 20 years with responsibilities in customer projects, generic R&D projects and worldwide advanced development tasks. He obtained his engineering degree from Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France and from the Darmstadt Technical University in Germany. He also has an MSc in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester, School of management. Patrice holds a series of patents in the area of human machine interface, connectivity, driving assistance, lighting automation & cleaning systems. He has been speaker in various conferences in the US, France & Germany (FISITA, OECD, Convergence, SAE..).

As a technology company and partner to all automakers and new mobility players, Valeo innovates to make mobility cleaner, safer and smarter. Valeo is a technological and industrial leader in electrification, driving assistance systems, reinvention of the interior experience and lighting everywhere. These four areas, vital to the transformation of mobility, are the Group's growth drivers. Valeo in figures: 20 billion euros in sales in 2022; 109,900 employees at December 31, 2022; 29 countries, 183 plants, 21 research centers, 44 development centers, 18 distribution platforms. Valeo is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.