Leadership
Edward T. Hightower, Founder
Edward Hightower is an automotive entrepreneur, EV start-up and global automotive OEM executive, board director, and author. He is the president of Lordstown Motors Corporation (Nasdaq: RIDE), a designer and manufacturer of electric vehicles for the commercial vehicle market. Previously, Hightower served in several new-product development, engineering, marketing, and senior executive roles between Ford, BMW, and GM. He also worked as a hands-on growth, strategy, and operations consultant at AlixPartners, LLP and Motoring Ventures LLC, which Hightower founded. He also has extensive experience in emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Hightower serves on the boards of directors of Tritium Charging (Nasdaq: DCFC) – a leading designer and manufacturer of DC (direct current) fast charging systems for electric vehicles; and HEVO Power – a designer and manufacturer of wireless charging systems and software for electric vehicles. He also served as an advisor to Kiira Motors, a Uganda-based manufacturer of electric city buses.
Hightower authored the book Motoring Africa: Sustainable Automotive Industrialization, published in 2018. Based on his industry experiences in China, India, South Korea, Mexico and Brazil, Motoring Africa makes the case and offers an actionable roadmap for building sustainable manufacturing businesses in six of the 54 countries in Africa.
Originally from Chicago, Hightower earned a BS in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business; where he serves on the Ross School Advisory Board and chaired the Ross Alumni Board of Governors. He is a lifetime member of both Kappa Alpha Psi and the Council on Foreign Relations. Hightower is a 5th degree Black Belt and certified sensei instructor of Isshinryu karate. He and his family live in metro Detroit, Michigan.
