Laerte Z.

Laerte Z. has a diverse and extensive work experience spanning multiple industries. Laerte is currently the Chief Operations Officer and Co-Founder of Earthling Automotive, a position they have held since January 2023. Prior to that, Laerte served as the Director of Manufacturing Engineering at BLOX from May 2020 to January 2023.

Before joining BLOX, Laerte worked as a Technical Director at Lyft from November 2018 to May 2020. Laerte also has experience with Tesla, where they held the position of Director, Global Body Repair Program, responsible for various aspects including engineering support, process improvement, and third-party body shop management. During their time at Tesla, Laerte successfully reduced cycle time from 19 days to 5 days through the implementation of Lean Management and Kaizen techniques.

Laerte's previous roles include General Manager at Hattori Racing Enterprises, Application Manager at BorgWarner, and various positions at FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Race Engines Plus, JTG Racing, and Toyota Racing Development. Their expertise encompasses areas such as engineering, manufacturing, program management, and commercial vehicle application engineering.

Overall, Laerte Z. has demonstrated leadership, technical proficiency, and a track record of success throughout their career in the automotive and engineering industries.

Laerte Z. pursued their education in a chronological manner, starting with their Bachelor's degree in Economics from Fundacao ABC, which they obtained between 1983 and 1987. Following this, they attended FEI from 1987 to 1992, where they focused on studying Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Automotive Engineering. After a significant gap in their education, in 2007, Laerte Z. enrolled at Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business for a Management Course in Dynamic Management.