GlobalAutoIndustry.com’s latest Audio Interview “Automobility 1.0: The Shift from Ownership to Usage – A China Perspective” with Ron Hesse features Bill Russo. Bill is the Founder and CEO of Shanghai-based Automobility Limited, a strategy and investment advisory firm helping clients to create the future of mobility. His over four decades of experience includes 15 years as an automotive executive, including over two decades of experience in China and Asia. He has also worked 12 years in the electronics and information technology industries. Bill is also currently serving as the Chair of the Automotive Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
Audio Interview Guest
Bill Russo, CEO
Automobility Limited
In the 15-minute Audio Interview, Mr. Russo discusses these questions:
• Before we dive into the three phases of Automobility, can you tell us about your firm—what you do at Automobility and why you chose that name?
• What inspired you to develop the Automobility 1.0–2.0–3.0 transformation framework, and why does the transition begin with Shared Services?
• What market forces and unmet needs created the conditions for Shared Services to scale in the late 2010s and early 2020s?
• And China very quickly became the global testbed for these models. What made China such fertile ground for shared mobility innovation?
• Shared Services gave us an unprecedented amount of real-time user data and behavioral insight. What did the industry learn from this first wave about consumer behavior, digital adoption, and service reliability?
• At the same time, these models struggled with profitability and operational scalability. What were the key limitations or bottlenecks in the Shared Services era that signaled the need for something more foundational?
• Shared Services created demand—but they also revealed the infrastructure gaps. How did the frictions in 1.0 pave the way for the connected, electric, and intelligent foundation of Automobility 2.0?
About Bill Russo:
Founder & CEO of Automobility Limited
Bill is the Founder and CEO of Shanghai-based Automobility Limited, a strategy and investment advisory firm helping clients to create the future of mobility.
His over 40 years of experience includes 16 years as an automotive executive, including 19 years of experience in China and Asia. He has also worked nearly 12 years in the electronics and information technology industries. He has worked as an advisor and consultant for numerous multinational and local Chinese firms in the formulation and implementation of their global market and product strategies. Bill is also currently serving as the Chair of the Automotive Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
In his current role, Bill advises start-ups, corporations and investors on how to maximize their participation in China’s Automobility Revolution. In order to achieve success, he believes they must expand their focus from the product (the automobile) to the utility derived from the product (“automobility”), and create a business model and digital ecosystem optimized to provide digitally enabled solutions for both car owners and mobility services users. Bill was previously the regional head of Chrysler in North East Asia, where he successfully negotiated agreements with partners and obtained required approvals from the China government to bring six new vehicle programs to the market in a three-year period, while concurrently establishing an infrastructure for local sourcing and sales distribution. Mr. Russo has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University in New York, and a Master of Science in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Mr. Russo is a highly sought after opinion leader on the development of the China market and the automotive industry.