The Wunder Mobility Summit 2019 was a massive success!
Whether the enthusiastic attendees, star-studded speaker line-up or innovative startups inspired you most, it was the guests who made WMS19 such a unique and enjoyable experience. The Wunder Mobility Summit is an excellent opportunity for leaders from all across the mobility spectrum to come together and swap ideas, thoughts and war stories during 1.5 days of exciting content, which included parties, technology playgrounds, a vehicle test track and, of course, panel discussions and fireside chats.
Without further ado, we present the official WMS19 aftermovie. (Be forewarned: the video you’re about to watch may be FOMO-inducing.)
The event started with a kick-off party at the Überquell Brewpub on November 6th, which was packed to capacity. A few rousing rounds of curling went on outside as our WMS-themed specialty of the house, an artisan craft beer dubbed the Wunderbräu, was being tasted inside at the bar.
Summit Day got off to a good start with opening remarks from Wunder Mobility CEO Gunnar Froh and then Peter Tschentscher, the First Mayor of Hamburg, who highlighted the importance of creating sustainable and accessible mobility solutions now and in the years to come.
Our first panel was moderated by Sarah Yvonne Elsser - who ended with a very interesting quote from the Simpsons - and included Anna-Charlotte Fleischmann-Kopatsch, a senior consultant at MHP, and Martin Hoff, Head of Market Management and Innovation at Allianz Automotive, speaking on the subject of the mobility landscape and predictions for the future.
John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo, spoke on his company’s ambitious plans for an autonomous and safer future; after that, Jens Beckmann of Microsoft and Thomas Dahlemm of Audi’s autonomous driving program talked about unusual collaboration models that are driving the automotive industry.
In the meantime, the expo area inside the museum was flooded with curious attendees eager to test out new technology. Partners like PwC, FutureCandy, Dronemasters, Goodpatch Athena, Ubilabs and Staud - Airways brought their VR glasses, holograms and robots to the event.
After an interesting discussion on the paradox of choice and user-friendliness moderated by Thomas Elrich of JDB Media and featuring Patrick Haller from Google, Jonas Seyfferth from Strategy& (part of the PwC network) and Daniel Avdagic of Living Lab, a test driver for Alfa Romeo Formula One, Tatiana Calderon, gave her perspective on how to survive and thrive in the male-dominated world of race car driving.
Across the way from the Internationales Maritimes Museum, the Micromobility Test Track was buzzing with energy. There, guests could ride vehicles so silent, you’d practically have to hold your breath to hear their battery-powered motors as they whiz past. A full range of vehicles - from bikes to scooters to everything in between - were parked beside the Wunder HQ, all available for a test ride.
After a break for a (delicious) lunch, Eckhart Diepenhorst, CEO of FreeNow, made some at times bordering-on-controversial, at times downright hilarious statements about working with and around government regulation, among other things; after that, Horace Dediu, co-founder of Micromobility Industries, gave an inspiring talk on consumer demand in the mobility industry.
Then it was time to talk about mobility’s intricate relationship with cities. Sigrid Dalberg-Krajewski, Head of Marketing and Communications at Trafi, Paul-Eric Perchaud, Director of Operations Germany for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Ben Volkow, CEO of Otonomo, had a thought-provoking discussion on B2G solutions, how to foster collaboration between cities and the private sector and more. Wunder City GM Ioana Freise did an excellent job of moderating.
Shortly thereafter, Alexander Hitzinger from the Volkswagen Group spoke on autonomous driving’s plausibility in the future. Next up was a panel with a diverse set of perspectives focusing on current mobility trends across the globe - Vikram Chopra, CEO of Cars24, Valerian Seither, CEO of Emmy, Andrea Kollmorgen, VP Mobility Connected (e)mobility at Siemens, and Kasper Zwetsloot, COO of felyx, talked about different approaches and attitudes to transportation in a lively discussion moderated by Phillip Wenger, GM Wunder Carpool.
That was followed by an entertaining talk from the lively Alexander Marten, Chief Innovation Evangelist at Telekom, who captured everyone’s attention. After a coffee break, Gunnar Froh once again took to the stage to induct the startup stage battle. An exciting round of pitching ensued; the four startups in question all did an excellent job of selling their story and their products. The jurors and the audience eventually voted for Motiontag, a startup developing real-time IT infrastructure that helps plan and orchestrate mobility systems more efficiently. They took home a well-deserved award for winning first place!
After a riveting fireside chat with Paulin Dementhon, CEO of Getaround, and Wunder co-founder and COO Sam Baker, Gunnar joined Sam onstage for the closing notes.
The networking dinner brought the evening to a delectable close: alliances were forged over cocktails and canapes; laughter exuded from all corners of the Internationales Maritimes Museum, bouncing off the high-beamed ceilings and mixing with the sounds of local indie band Guacayo. After the band was replaced by a DJ, the “Wunderers” took over - they danced the night away in celebration of an event well-hosted.
WMS19 was an inspiring mobility summit. More than that, it was fun, too. The mobility industry today is on the cusp of a great change: often, industry leaders are confronted by naysayers who decry new and shared mobility as being either a public nuisance, environmental destruction disguised as positive disruption, or just well-meaning theoretical ideas that go awry when faced with the tricky business of real-world application.
On the other hand, industry leaders are also expected to be driving the innovation our society will need to protect itself from the multiple impending crises of the future. That’s why we need events like these now more than ever: to have a place to ask hard questions and connect with like-minded professionals, unified by the common goal of shaping the future of mobility for the better.
Thanks for joining the conversation - we’ll see you at WMS20!