Center for Automotive Research announces new board chair and directors

(From left) Dr. James Jacobs, John Bozzella, Ed Knapp, Michael Putz

The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) has appointed three new members to its board of directors and selected a new board chair.

Dr. James Jacobs, president emeritus of Macomb Community College, has been appointed board chair. He has been a CAR board member since 2010 and assumes the chair role following the resignation of Neil De Koker. He holds a PhD from Princeton University and has more than 40 years of experience at Macomb.

John Bozzella, president/CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, has been named to the board. He’s a veteran auto industry executive, having served previously as president/CEO of the Association of Global Automakers and in administrative roles with Chrysler.

New board member Ed Knapp is corporate chief technology officer with American Tower. Before that he served as senior vice president of engineering at Qualcomm. Knapp has more than 38 years of communications technology experience. He holds an MBA from Columbia University, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Polytechnic University (NYU), and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Stony Brook University.

Michael Putz, president/CEO of Peterson American Corp., also has been named as a director. He previously served as president/CFO of Alco Mfg. and as COO and CFO at MPI Products. Putz holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Walsh College and an MBA from Wayne State University.