Raz Mates

I’m originally from Romania but studied and worked internationally in Germany and the United States. I have a global automotive background: a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Vehicle Dynamics. After founding a startup in Romania, I’ve been working for Mercedes doing autonomous parking, then joined ZF’s Systems Engineering doing chassis and brake controls systems. I have also raced motorcycles professionally for 9 years during my time in Europe, winning the Romanian National champion title. An expat assignment with ZF brought me to Michigan where I led different strategic projects and was able to drive organizational change. Naturally, I then decided to pursue my MBA to accelerate my growth as a business leader. The incredible sense of community and action-based learning, fostered by an exceptional academic environment, have been the main drivers that had me choose Ross. I am looking to continue growing as a leader, while also finding opportunities to give back to our community. Please feel free to reach out to talk about general management, automotive, tech, living and working in Europe or US. I love motorsports (F1, MotoGP, etc.), skiing (Alps guy), and traveling (40+ countries).