Cerence Investor Day

Stefan Ortmanns, Ph.D. is the chief executive officer of Cerence, the global industry leader in conversational AI for mobility. An accomplished voice and automotive technology executive, he most recently led Cerence’s Core Products business as executive vice president & general manager following the company’s separation from Nuance Communications in 2019. Ortmanns joined Nuance in 2003 and served in a variety of senior management and engineering roles, including executive vice president & general manager of the company’s Automotive Division. Prior to that, Ortmanns held positions at Philips Speech Processing, Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, and the University of Technology Aachen. Ortmanns holds degrees in mechanical engineering, computer science and a Ph.D. in computer science from RWTH Aachen University.

A seasoned technology executive, Prateek Kathpal serves as Cerence’s Chief Technology Officer. In this role, Prateek is responsible for Cerence’s technology vision, R&D, and professional services, as well as the company’s user research and experience group. Prior to joining Cerence, Prateek served as General Manager of AI & IoT Products at View, responsible for leading product strategy, defining and driving the product roadmap, and supporting M&A activity to accelerate growth. Prior to View, he served as VP of Product & Solution Management at Polycom; Chief Strategy Officer at HighQ; and, VP of Product Strategy at Accusoft, which acquired Adeptol, a company Prateek founded. Prateek holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Instrumentation & Process Control.

As Chief Financial Officer, Tom Beaudoin is a strategic partner to Cerence leadership and the Board of Directors, focused on accelerating growth, improving operating results and creating sustainable, long-term value. As a member of the Cerence Board of Directors since the company’s inception in 2019, and as the former head of Business Transformation at Nuance Communications leading the spin-out of Cerence, Tom has an extensive track record with Cerence and the automotive and software industries. Tom most recently served as Chief Transformation Officer of Qualifacts. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer for SimpliVity, where he helped orchestrate its successful sale to Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and served as Executive Vice President and CFO at Nuance for seven years, where he led all financial, IT and administrative functions. He earned both his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees from Babson College.

As Chief Product Officer, Nils Schanz is responsible for Cerence’s core mobility products, leading its digital cabin strategy, product portfolio, and customer delivery across the company’s global operations. He joined Cerence from Mercedes-Benz AG and Daimler, where he developed the highly regarded MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience), the automaker’s intuitive, high-tech multimedia system, and launched other widely acclaimed innovations such as the award-winning MBUX Hyperscreen and the Voice Assistant “Hey Mercedes.” Since 2018, he has served as Global Head of User Interaction & Voice Control, leading a cross-functional team with global responsibility for digital user interface and user experience. Prior to his most recent role, Mr. Schanz held a variety of positions at Daimler and Mercedes-Benz in R&D, Product Management, and Marketing. In addition to his Germany-based roles, he also spent time in Silicon Valley as Director of IoT & Wearables at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America.