Hector Fratty

Claude Penn is an engineer who studied at France’s Institut d’Optique graduate school. The school teaches all fields related to optics but also general engineering subjects. He worked for almost ten years for a group known today as Safran, developing image processing hardware and software for military and security applications. Then he decided to change for a faster-moving environment, the auto industry. He entered Valeo group in 2001 and soon transferred to Spain to build, from scratch, a team and laboratories dedicated to optical development. Five years later, the team was fully autonomous. He was eager to have a broader experience and moved to the Renault group.

DVN: What do you retain from these last years working at Renault?
Claude Penn : I entered Renault as responsible for product/process development of lighting in segment of small and low cost vehicles and managed all developments worldwide in countries as varied as Romania, Brazil, Russia, Iran, and India.
Working for a carmaker, the idea was to acquire more general experience than just lighting. So I spent a few years in the cost control department with high focus on design to cost activities, also setting cost targets for suppliers and achieving them with help of purchasing departments and engineering teams. Price competitiveness is an aspect that cannot be left aside today in car industry.

DVN: You just arrived in China. How’s it going?
C.P .: Almost four months since I settled in Shanghai and I am still impressed by the speed things are moving here. Growth is here and brings a lot energy: The mindset of the people is always very positive. The teams are eager to learn and are learning fast.
I’m still quite absorbed by the comprehension of the situation, the challenges and soon I will be able to share with more details my strategy for Asia. Right now, I can say we are—and will keep—reinforcing our local competencies to address the expansion.