John Waraniak

Vice President of Vehicle Technology

Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)

John Waraniak has been in the aerospace, automotive, racing and performance industries for over 25 years with wide-ranging systems engineering experience, innovative technology insights and frontline lessons for competing and winning in today’s Automotive 4.0 transformation. In his role as SEMA’s chief technology officer since May 2006, Waraniak helps performance aftermarket companies integrate their products with the latest advanced vehicle technologies and capitalize on new business and product-development opportunities, as well as customize with confidence by connecting SEMA manufacturers with engineering resources, capabilities and tools to manage disruptive vehicle technologies and ensure compliance with the latest industry standards and best practices.

He is an acknowledged leader and advocate for automaker-aftermarket-technology innovation and collaboration for advancing safety performance, connected, assisted and automated driving, new mobility solutions, generative design and systems engineering management. He has held executive management positions at General Motors, Hughes Aircraft and Northrop and  also co-chairman and founding member of the SAE Connect2Car Executive Leadership Committee, Board Advisor for the Indy Autonomous Challenge and the Carroll A. Campbell Jr., Graduate Engineering Center External Advisory Board at Clemson University.

Born and raised in the Motor City of Detroit, John is an avid auto industry and motocross enthusiast. He is graduate of the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois and Caltech’s Executive Engineering Management Program. John was elected an SAE Fellow in October 2019 for his significant technical achievements and mobility industry contributions in both automotive and aerospace.

Speaking at:

MBS 2019 – Future Factories

The Car of Tomorrow: Mobility – Does Form Follow Function?