Francois E. Guichard is an engineer and works at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). He currently holds the position of Secretary for both the Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles, as well as the Group of Experts drafting a new legal international instrument for the use of automated vehicles in traffic. Francois heads a unit that oversees technical regulations for vehicle automation and connectivity and is acting as the Intelligent Transport Systems and Automated Driving focal point for UNECE.

Prior to his current role, Francois served as a line manager at Daimler AG, where he successfully advocated for the introduction of Advance Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) in international legislation, making a significant impact on road safety. He also provided guidance to several countries on environmental strategies, utilizing his background as a noise, greenhouse gas, and pollutants emission testing engineer. Francois’ career began as an International Management Associate at Mercedes-Benz, gaining valuable experience in Germany, South Africa and the United States.