#49 – Chris Thomas | Assembly Ventures – Candor and Rethinking Mobility

Chris Thomas is a Co-Founder and Partner at Assembly Ventures and he previously co-founded Detroit Mobility Lab and the Michigan Mobility Institute. Key topics in this conversation include: Rethinking the mobility ecosystem The ISA framework for identifying and creating value for mobility The unique approach taken by Assembly Ventures The importance of candor in Chris’s life and career How Chris built a lasting relationship with Bill Ford during an internship Links: Show notes: brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/christhomas Chris’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherthomas/ Assembly Ventures Medium page: medium.com/assembly-ventures Chris’s bio: Chris Thomas is a Co-Founder at Partner at Assembly Ventures, the first trans-Atlantic mobility fund in the world based in Detroit and Berlin.  Prior to Assembly Ventures he co-founded Detroit Mobility Lab and the Michigan Mobility Institute, entities dedicated to helping Detroit become one of the world’s foremost future mobility ecosystems and creating the future of mobility talent in North America.  Prior to the Detroit Mobility Lab and the Michigan Mobility Institute Chris co-founded Fontinalis Partners and for over a decade worked to build it into one of the premier investment firms in next-generation mobility. While at Fontinalis, he served as a board member for nuTonomy (acquired by Aptiv in October 2017) and Karamba Security, and as a board observer at ParkMe (acquired by INRIX in September 2015), Parkmobile (acquired by BMW in January 2018), Life360 (IPO in May 2019), Ouster (SPAC in December 2020) and SmartKargo. Prior to Fontinalis, Chris served in the U.S. Army as a communications officer in the U.S. and Iraq. Before joining the military, Chris worked as an investment banker at UBS within its Technology and Energy groups in San Francisco and New York. Additionally, Chris acts as a senior advisor to the COMMIT Foundation and is a member of the Global Cleantech 100 expert panel. He is also a co-owner of Buddy's Pizza, the birthplace of original Detroit-style pizza, and an avid angel investor. Chris has previously served as the chairman of Read to a Child, a national children’s literacy and mentoring nonprofit in the United States and acted as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Personal Transportation Systems. Chris earned his master’s degree in business administration from the Yale School of Management. While at Yale he served on the Honor Committee and graduated with distinction in former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s seminar on Faith and Globalization. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in both economics and international relations from Michigan State University. Chris is a resident of the city of Detroit where he lives with his wife and sons. He is a staunch advocate of connected communities, early childhood literacy, and the doctrine of the strenuous life. Future of Mobility: The Future of Mobility podcast is focused on the development and implementation of safe, sustainable, and equitable mobility solutions, with a spotlight on the people and technology advancing these fields. linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/ brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/ Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License