Valter Genone has been GTB President for a few months now, and kindly granted DVN an interview to see how it’s going.
DVN: First, congratulations! You are the new President of GTB, succeeding Geoff Draper. Tell us about yourself, won’t you please?
Valter Genone: Thanks a lot. For the congratulations and to give me the opportunity to introduce myself to DVN. I was born in Torino, Italy in 1954. After having completed my studies in Aeronautical Constructions, in 1978 I started to work for FIAT in the Regulation office. My main field of activity was lighting, but during the years I also worked on other electrical and electronic matters (like electromagnetic compatibility, instrument panel and so on), on steering systems and ADAS, on direct and indirect visibility and other “minor” items. At the end of 2019, for my last working year, I moved to the Homologation office of FCA.
In 1981 I started to attend International meetings on lighting as technical consultant of the Italian Ministry of Transport. For some years I regularly attended EEC technical meetings on the evolution of the EEC Directive 76/756 “Lighting Installation” in Brussels. I have been attending the GRE sessions in Geneva from 1984 until 2018. In parallel I also attended GTB meetings, as Italian delegate and then as Head of the Italian Delegation; for some years I have been the Secretary of the GTB Working Group Installation.
From a private life point of view: I am married since 1978 and father of two daughters and two sons. I have also three granddaughters and one grandson: quite a big family!
DVN: What was your reaction after your election?
Valter Genone: Well, I was quite surprised but very honoured for having been recognised as a suitable GTB President. I suppose that several GTB Members deemed quite important my large experience in the regulatory world for such a long time. I will use my experience to continue the good work done by Geoff Draper and to guide GTB through the next challenging years.
DVN: GTB has recently restructured with the introduction of the new role of Secretary General. Can you please summarise the revised role of the GTB President?
Valter Genone: With the new structure more responsibilities, including the technical management of the GTB work, have moved under the Secretary-General’s competence, while prior to the restructuring this was among the President’s main responsibilities. Consequently, the role of the President is now more devoted to the guidance of the association and to the administrative and institutional activities, including public relations. This will allow the President to focus more on all those actions aimed at creating and strengthening the relationship with the other groups, like DVN, or institutions operating in the vehicle lighting world.
DVN: You had a long and successful career at Fiat, and you have great experience in regulatory matters, working in GTB and in the UN activities in Geneva. How do you expect to use this knowledge in your new role as GTB President?
Valter Genone: The many years spent in Brussels and Geneva regulatory working groups allowed me to understand the administrations’ point of view. At the same time, from the parallel experience of work in a vehicle industry, I have learnt what the vehicle manufacturers need from the regulatory instruments. GTB is already a meeting point among different realities and points of view; I hope that my experience and exposure to viewpoints from both sides will help the GTB to increase its negotiation attitude, that in the past resulted to be the key to solve some controversial issues in GRE. Due to my previous activity, I should also be able to support the Secretary-General with some practical aspects such as the editorial revision of the final proposals to be submitted to GRE.
DVN: What will be your relationship with Davide Puglisi and Bart Terburg?
Valter Genone: I met Bart and Davide many years ago and our personal relationship have always been friendly; this will be a big help in our interaction for the activity. At the beginning, I will need their assistance to correctly move my first steps in the presidential role. Once my learning phase will be concluded, I think we should consolidate the interchangeability for certain activities, in such a way to optimise the presence of GTB where and when it is needed.
The present structure, as recently optimised, should not need further heavy changes, after the excellent work made by the previous management team. This should allow each of us to concentrate on the specific activities, being also ready to support each other to perform our duties.
DVN: GTB has done a great job this last decade but many challenges are still in front of you. How will you manage them?
Valter Genone: A field in which GTB is particularly active is harmonisation. This issue is a real challenge for lighting. I worked already, particularly in GRE, on this item and I know the high interest that industry has in worldwide harmonisation and synchronisation of the technical requirements. But I also had a clear feeling of the substantial hostility that certain administrations had towards a real alignment of the requirements necessary to regulate the type approval or certification of vehicles and components. Political and economic interests are still existing, contrasting the harmonisation process but, in recent times, something seems to move in the right direction. GTB can play an important role to discover, for each involved country, the specific point of interest able to show to its administration the prevalence of the pros vs the cons of harmonisation. Once the process will start, my feeling is that most of the technical issues could be solved quite easily.
A number of other issues are still on the table, that could appear as challenging. However, I think that the present international situation already provides inputs naturally in favour of a quite easy acceptance of innovative products and technical solutions, also from the point of view of their regulatory provisions.
The administrations are looking for something able to solve, or at least to improve, the situation for some of the main issues in automotive: electrical vehicles, CO2 reduction, autonomous vehicles, increasing number of elderly drivers, and others. But they are suspicious towards industry proposals, maybe since industry is often proposing products/technical solutions having nothing to do with the administrations’ needs.
Industry is able to provide innovative products/technical solutions answering to the administrations’ needs, but also a number of items that seems to go in the opposite direction are proposed.
GTB is, by its nature, in the best position to find the converging point between these two attitudes and consequently provide the necessary adaptation of legislative requirements to make the products or technical solutions legal; and the administrations will be happy to accept our proposals, helping them to solve their problems.
DVN: What is the message you would like to transmit to the worldwide vehicle lighting community?
Valter Genone: Well, in principle, I think I have already answered this question, particularly in my last answer above. Automotive lighting and light signalisation have an important role in the vehicle safety. I think that this role will be still important, probably with suitable adaptations, also in the (far) future of autonomous vehicles’ circulation. We shall not change the role of vehicle lights from important safety elements to a distractive and confusing assembly of flashing and fluctuating multicolour lamps. Administrations request to improve safety, to reduce energy consumption, to find the right illumination and signalisation solution for any specific circulation and ambient conditions.
Industry is continuously proposing innovative products; many of them can answer to such requests.
GTB is able to provide the answer/solutions to put these products legally on the market, but the answers/solutions we will provide shall be honest. The choice of the items to work on, the scientific study supporting our work and the regulatory text we will finally propose to the administrations shall always be directed to really improve the quality of vehicle circulation and its impact on our life.
In my view, this is valid for GTB but it should also be the final target for the entire automotive community, not only the lighting one.
