As reported in DVN, Jean-Philippe Benoist is replacing Mathieu Lips as Renault’s lighting chief.
Last week, DVN organised a celebration to wish Mathieu Lips all well in his new job, to welcome Jean-Philippe Benoist to the lighting community, and to interview both men.
Present were Whilk Goncalves from PSA, Hans-Theo Dorissen from Hella, Kamislav Fadel from AL, Arnaud Perrotin from Valeo, and representatives from French Tier-2 suppliers and universities.
We present first the interview with Mathieu Lips, who describes his enthusiasm for lighting even as he moves to other responsibilities. Following that, there’s the interview of Jean-Philippe Benoist, well convinced of the importance of lighting in the automotive industry for brand identity and its level of innovations.
DVN: Mathieu, what is your feedback after three and a half years leading the Renault lighting department?
Mathieu Lips : I have one immediate word: exciting!
Exciting for 3 reasons: innovation, motivation, community
1) an innovative field:
In lighting we have the chance to live an on-going technical breakthrough with the arrival of LEDs to light the road. I say it is a breakthrough because I’m convinced the performance of LEDs and the opportunities for new usages will continuously improve for years. Working in an innovative field is a great chance as it is generally more enthusiastic. On the other hand it requires being very pragmatic in order to offer the right service at the right moment for the end customer.