Autopalooza London 2025

Cigdem Cerit is a Senior Director in Fitch Ratings’ European corporate ratings group since 2011. She heads the analytical coverage of European auto manufacturers and suppliers. She is also involved in coverage of  issuers in all industrial sectors including trucks and automotive related services. 

Prior to joining Fitch, Cigdem worked for Akbank as a fixed income portfolio manager.  Cigdem has a BA from Bilkent University, on Banking and Finance, and she has a MBA from Istanbul Bilgi University.

Roman, co-founder and COO of Appsfactory, drives the development of innovative digital products and applications for leading companies. Appsfactory’s award-winning solutions have provided significant value to over 67 million users worldwide. With over 700 successfully completed projects, Appsfactory serves renowned clients such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Bloomberg, Axel Springer, Porsche, Swiss Re, Amazon, and Red Bull.

As a driving force for innovation, Roman has significantly contributed to Appsfactory’s success, particularly by establishing and leading the Mobility business unit. In this role, he spearheaded numerous digitalization projects in the automotive and media sectors and implemented modern business models.

His comprehensive expertise in application development across all platforms, combined with strategic leadership, ensures Appsfactory’s operational excellence. Roman holds a PhD in Business Informatics from the University of Leipzig and Macquarie University Sydney and lectures on Mobile App Design and Development at Leipzig University of Applied Sciences.

Gillian Davis is an Industry Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence based in London, a unique research platform that provides context on industries, companies, and government policy, available on the Bloomberg Professional service at BI <GO>. Ms. Davis specializes in the European Autos industry.
 
Ms. Davis has over 20 years at Bloomberg, of which the past seven years have been spent covering the European Autos Sector. Prior to joining Bloomberg, she completed her BA in Economics at the University of Greenwich, London.

Jim Williamson is a Senior Credit Analyst at CreditSights covering OEMs and suppliers across the IG and HY Autos and Industrials sectors.

Joel Levington is the global director of credit research for Bloomberg Intelligence specializing in global automotive and industrial markets.

He has covered a broad range of industries. Prior to joining Bloomberg, he was a managing director and credit analyst for Brookfield Asset Management, where he managed a long-short CDS book, co-managed a total return fund, and led the CORE credit team. Before that, he was a director at Standard & Poor’s, following capital goods and automotive credits.

Joel earned a master’s degree in corporate finance from the University at Buffalo and a bachelors of science in accounting and economics from Bradley University. He is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA).

Lukas Paul is the Lead Analyst for S&P Global Ratings’ European portfolio of automotive issuers. In this role he is responsible for ensuring the quality of analytics and customer service for S&P’s rated European auto OEMs and auto suppliers. Lukas is based in Frankfurt. Lukas joined the S&P Corporate Ratings Group in 2014, taking a position as primary analyst for a portfolio of high-profile European telecommunications and technology credits, before moving to his current position in the automotive sector in 2020.

Prior to joining S&P, Lukas worked as Economic Analyst with the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission, producing economic and financial analyses which served as input for regulatory and other sector policies.

Lukas’s experience also includes a position with the German Ministry of Economics in the area of telecoms policy and roles with Commerzbank Equity Research and as a freelance consultant for a U.S. software company.
Lukas holds a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in Economics (Diplom-Volkswirt) from the University of Cologne, as well as degrees in Business Administration from the University of Portsmouth and Muenster University of Applied Sciences.

Matthias Heck is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer within Moody’s European Corporate Finance Group, based in Frankfurt. He is Moody’s Lead Analyst for European Automotive Parts Suppliers and coordinates Moody’s Global Automotive Industry Outlook, including global light vehicle sales forecasts and global automotive sector research. Previously, Matthias covered European automakers (OEMs). Prior to joining Moody’s auto team, he was responsible for a diverse portfolio of manufacturing, business services, real estate and consumer goods companies based in Europe. Matthias has 25 years of experience in corporate ratings and financial analysis from a credit and equity perspective.

Matthias joined Moody’s in 2013, as a Senior Analyst of the Infrastructure Finance Team in London. Prior to this, Matthias worked for Macquarie, Sal. Oppenheim and Banco Santander as an equity research analyst focusing on European utilities. Matthias is a CFA charterholder and an Ambassador of the German CFA Society to Moody’s.

Matthias Hellstern, Managing Director, has been with Moody’s Deutschland GmbH in Frankfurt since October 2004.
Matthias is Team Leader in the European Corporate Finance Group heading the Frankfurt and Stockholm-based analytical team focusing on manufacturing, cyclical and energy-intensive industries. The principal industries covered by his team include Auto, Capital Goods, Oil & Gas, Chemical, Aerospace & Defence, Building Materials, and Real Estate.

Prior to his appointment as Team Leader, Matthias was Moody’s lead analyst for European building materials companies and steel producers.

Previously he spent around 10 years in the European banking industry as a corporate credit analyst with Commerzbank and ING in Germany and the UK.
Matthias Hellstern has graduated from the University of Augsburg in Germany with a degree in Business Administration (Diplom-Kaufmann).

With nearly two decades at the forefront of the trends impacting the automotive finance market, Melinda Zabritski is a recognized authority in the automotive credit and lending industry. As Head of Automotive Financial Insights at Experian Automotive, she provides guidance on innovative products and services while serving as the company’s go-to expert and spokesperson on key automotive finance trends. 

Melinda’s expertise lies in transforming complex data into actionable strategies and insights that are highly sought after at industry conferences and in media discussions. 

Before joining Experian in 2004, she held leadership roles in product management and analytics, where she specialized in credit risk modeling and market analysis, helping guide smarter decision-making across the credit industry. 

Philip is Insight Director at Cox Automotive Europe, where he leads the development of strategic insights that support both Cox Automotive and its customers in navigating the evolving automotive landscape.

With over 37 years of experience, Philip is a widely respected authority in vehicle remarketing, retail, fleet, and corporate sectors. He also serves as Chair of the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) and a Member of the European Remarketing Advisory Board, reinforcing his position as a key thought leader.

Beyond his expertise in data and strategy, Philip maintains strong relationships across the automotive sector, engaging with senior executives, industry associations, and key stakeholders, including the UK Government and the Bank of England (BoE). These connections enable him to provide informed, forward-thinking perspectives that shape industry discourse and decision-making.

A strategic and analytical thinker, Philip specialises in transforming complex industry intelligence and data into actionable insights. A trusted industry commentator, he has built a reputation for delivering clear, compelling, high-impact executive summaries that drive informed decisions.

Richard joined Muzinich in 2017. He is an Analyst/Portfolio Manager covering the European IG/HY Auto sector as well as a range of other IG sectors.  Prior to joining Muzinich, Richard was at Citi for five years as a Credit Sector Specialist covering a wide range of investment grade corporate issuers but specialising in the Autos, Utilities, Energy and Retail sectors. Prior to that, he worked as a desk Analyst at UBS for two years focused on European investment grade Industrials. Previously Richard spent 10 years at RBS in a range of credit research roles including mid and large cap counterparty research, publishing research, desk research and credit strategy. Richard is a qualified chartered accountant and earned an honours degree in Economics from the University of Warwick.

Stephanie Vincent is a Managing Director in European Credit Research. Her sector/asset coverage includes Autos, High Yield Chemicals and Corporate Hybrids. In 2024, she ranked #2 in the Extel Global Fixed Income Survey for European High Yield Autos/Auto Parts. Previously, she was an Executive Director in EMEA Credit Research at J.P. Morgan and prior to that an Associate at Wachovia Securities. She has a B.S. in Economics from Duke University, is a CFA charterholder and is based in London.

Thijs van Herkhuizen is the General Manager of Appning by FORVIA, based in Lisbon, Portugal. As the leading Automotive Apps Market, Appning works with OEMs such as BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz, Geely and with leading Content service providers such as Zoom, TikTok, Spotify, Amazon and YouTube. Thijs has over 20 years’ experience in global e-commerce, gaming, payments and most recently in the automotive technology industry.

Vittoria is a Managing Director in S&P Global Ratings and is based in Milan. As Sector Lead for the European Automotive she is responsible for the sector research and for credit ratings coverage of a selected number of high-profile names in the auto industry. Vittoria is the global coordinator of S&P’s Auto Industry Focus Group, co-lead of the cross divisional lab ‘Future of Mobility’ and she’s is managing the coordination call involving EMEA sector leads.

As Sector Lead for the European prior to her current role, Vittoria was Director in S&P Utilities Team and Lead Analyst for Continental Europe. In this role she was covering directly large power and gas companies and energy infrastructure providers in Germany, Italy, Austria and Iberian Peninsular. Vittoria has been team leaders for the Milan-based S&P Public Finance team between 2004 and 2007.

Before joining S&P Vittoria worked at Merrill Lynch in the Rating advisory team and as Head of Credit Risk Research at French broker Exane in Pairs.

Vittoria holds a Master Degree in Economics from Milan-based Universita Commerciale Luigi Bocconi and is a CFA Charter holder. Vittoria speaks fluent English, French, German and Spanish.