Michael Benisch is the Vice President of Advanced AD/ADAS at Woven by Toyota.

For more than 15 years, Michael has used his engineering expertise to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to solving real-world business and social challenges. He joined Woven Planet, now Woven by Toyota, to lead a software operating system with a human-centric interface for the vehicles of today and the mobility of the future. Previously, Michael was Senior Director of Engineering for the Self-Driving Division, of Level 5—Lyft’s autonomous vehicle business—which has now been acquired by Woven Planet.

Earlier, Michael was VP of Engineering for the marketing platform startup Rocket Fuel, leading a team of nearly two dozen PhD-level engineers to develop cutting-edge AI and ML capabilities. Prior to that, Michael co-founded HG Analytics, a hedge fund that traded billions of dollars on public stock exchanges. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University, where he was a Siebel Scholar—a designation awarded annually to 80 graduate students around the world for academic excellence and demonstrated leadership.