Justin Mirro

Justin Mirro is Chairman & CEO of Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: KCAC), a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) and is also the President of Kensington Capital Partners, a merchant bank that invests in automotive and industrial companies.

As a former Toyota-trained engineer and automotive investment banker, Justin brings a unique ability to develop a clear investment thesis and monetization strategy for his investments.  Historically, most of Kensington’s investments have been made via distressed equity or debt securities, often converted into common equity on similar terms as management.  More recently, Kensington has focused on high-growth companies in the emerging automotive mega-trend of vehicle electrification.

Current Kensington investments include Transtar Inc., an Ohio based distributor of transmission repair parts, and Stanadyne Corporation, a New York based supplier of OE and aftermarket fuel injectors and pumps.  Justin is the lead independent director of QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE: QS), a California based developer of solid-state electric vehicle batteries and is also a director of Cooper Standard Automotive (NYSE: CPS), a Michigan based tier one supplier of rubber hoses and door seals.

Prior to his role with Kensington, Justin spent over 20 years as an automotive investment banker for various global banks including The Royal Bank of Canada, Moelis & Company, Jefferies & Company and Salomon Smith Barney.  Justin has advised on over $60 billion of M&A, debt, equity and restructuring transactions for automotive assemblers, suppliers, the aftermarket and dealerships.  Past clients have included American Axle, Aston Martin, Chrysler, Dana, Delphi, Federal-Mogul, Fiat, Ford, GM, Grakon, Grede, GST, Henniges, Holley, JAC, JCI, Key, Lear, Magna, Meritor, Metaldyne, MSX, Nexteer, Penske, Sonic, Stackpole, Takata, Thule, Thyssen Krupp, Toyota, TriMas, Truck-Lite, Waupaca and Wolverine.

Prior to investment banking Justin worked as an automotive engineer, first as a manufacturing engineer at General Motors in Detroit and then as a design engineering at Toyota Motor Corp in Japan.  Justin holds a patent for an adjustable stabilizer bar used on the Land Cruiser SUV.

Justin is the creator and publisher of The Motor Weekly®, an electronic newsletter covering the stock prices, operating metrics and valuation multiples for publicly traded automotive and commercial vehicle companies.  To subscribe http://www.themotorweekly.com/subscribe.html.

Justin has a BS Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University in New York City.   Justin is the chair of the external advisory board of the Integrative Systems + Design division at Michigan’s College of Engineering.