Edward T. Hightower, Managing Director, Motoring Ventures LLC
Edward Hightower is an electric vehicle OEM CEO, global automotive executive, entrepreneur, board director, and published author. He is the founder and managing director of Motoring Ventures LLC, an investment, growth, strategy, and operations advisory firm focused on driving value + impact in the global automotive industry.
Hightower previously served as the chief executive officer and president of Lordstown Motors Corp., an original equipment manufacturer of electric vehicles for the commercial fleet market. In 2022, he led the operational turnaround of the company, implementation of a new asset-light business strategy, and launch of its first vehicle – the Endurance battery electric full-size pickup truck. In doing so, over 700 jobs were saved, and Endurance was selected as a finalist for 2023 North American Truck of the Year. Of all the new light-duty electric vehicle manufacturers, Lordstown was one of the very few (Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and Lordstown) to have successfully developed, certified, launched, and delivered its vehicles to customers. Crain’s Automotive News magazine recognized Hightower as the first African American CEO of a publicly traded automaker. Hightower also served as CEO of the electric vehicle design and engineering joint venture between Lordstown and Foxconn.
Earlier, Hightower served in several senior new-product development, engineering, strategy, brand marketing, and P&L executive leadership roles between Ford, BMW, and GM. At GM, he led the company’s $20 billion global crossovers business as the executive director of the vehicle line. At BMW, he drove the $2 billion 5 Series portfolio to record sales and profitability in the US. He also worked as a hands-on growth, strategy, operations, and M&A consultant at AlixPartners, LLP. He has extensive experience in emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Hightower currently serves on the board of directors of the iconic school bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corp. (Nasdaq: BLBD). He has also served on several other public, private, and not-for-profit boards.
Hightower authored the book Motoring Africa: Sustainable Automotive Industrialization, published in 2018. Based on his industry experiences in China, India, South Korea, Mexico and Brazil, Motoring Africa makes the case and offers an actionable roadmap for economic development by building sustainable automotive manufacturing businesses in six of the 54 countries in Africa. Hightower had the honor of presenting Motoring Africa at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during its 2019 Industrialization Week.
Originally from Chicago, Hightower earned a BS in General Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He serves on the Ross School Advisory Board, Sanger Leadership Center Advisory Board, and chaired the Ross Alumni Board of Governors. He is a lifetime member of both Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the Council on Foreign Relations. An Eagle Scout, he previously served on the executive board of the Michigan Council of the Boy Scouts of America and is a 2019 recipient of the National Outstanding Eagle Scout award. Hightower is a 6th degree Master Black Belt and certified Sensei instructor in Isshinryu karate. He and his family live in metro Detroit, Michigan, USA.