K. Venkatesh Prasad, Ph.D.

Dr. K. Venkatesh Prasad, known throughout the industry simply as Prasad, now serves as a Research Fellow Emeritus at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). In this honorary role, he continues to lend his expertise to CAR on a limited basis, occasionally advising on research projects or representing CAR at select events. While largely retired and without day-to-day responsibilities, Prasad remains a valued member of the CAR community, contributing perspectives shaped by decades of technical and strategic leadership.

Prasad previously served as CAR’s Senior Vice President of Research and Chief Innovation Officer (CINO), where he helped advance CAR’s research agenda and deepen engagement across the automotive ecosystem.

Prasad came to CAR after a 26+ year career at Ford Motor Company. During his tenure at Ford, he held a broad range of leadership roles in R&D and innovation acceleration across Ford’s global Vehicle Components & Systems Engineering organization, and most recently in Corporate Strategy. During that time, he co-founded and led Ford’s Silicon Valley Labs in Palo Alto, California.

Prior to joining Ford, Prasad was a Senior Research Scientist at the Ricoh California Research Center. Prasad earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Washington State University, both with an emphasis in computer engineering.  He earned an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the IIT Madras, and a B.E. in Electronics and Communications Engineering from NIT Trichy, University of Madras, where he received a distinguished alum award.