Oshkosh Corporation is an industrial technology company that designs and manufactures specialty vehicles, access equipment, airport systems, fire and emergency vehicles, and defense solutions for critical industries and everyday essential workers.
You’ve built your career across automotive, aerospace, and industrial technology. What drew you to Oshkosh Corporation, and what made the opportunity stand out to you?
I grew up in the automotive industry and had the opportunity to launch many programs from concept into production, taking technologies from ideas to real-world applications. I worked across electrification, hybrids, green technologies, powertrain development, and vehicle launches, and also led quality operations for a period. Later, I moved into aerospace as VP of Technology at Eaton Aerospace, where the focus was on bringing more of an automotive-style systems approach into aerospace technologies, including electrical, hydraulic, and fuel systems.
After that, I served as Chief Innovation and Technology Officer at Xylem, a water technology company, and then worked at Case New Holland in agriculture and construction. What attracted me to Oshkosh Corporation was its mission. Every product is designed to support what we call “everyday heroes” — firefighters, airport crews, refuse collection operators, construction workers, and postal workers. Across more than a dozen end markets, Oshkosh is a trusted leader, and the opportunity to combine technology, sourcing, AI, and connected solutions to transform these industries was incredibly compelling to me.
AI adoption often comes with trust concerns, especially in high-risk environments. How does Oshkosh approach that challenge?
For us, it is not about introducing technology for the sake of technology. The people using our vehicles do not care about AI itself — they care about whether it makes their jobs easier and more safe.
Our vehicles are not simply transportation platforms; they are work environments with complex control systems. Whether it is a refuse collection vehicle or airport ground support equipment, operators deal with significant cognitive workload every day.
Our approach is what we call “moments of autonomy.” Instead of trying to replace operators, we identify difficult or repetitive parts of their jobs and apply AI surgically to reduce cognitive load. The goal is for the technology to feel intuitive and almost invisible. We also take a staged deployment approach and work closely with customers early in development. We call it “customer in the loop,” where operators and fleet owners test prototypes in real environments so we can refine the technology and earn trust over time.
Can you give some examples of how your concept of ‘moments of autonomy’ is applied in practice?
One example is airport jet bridges. Operating a jet bridge is more complicated than people realize because you are maneuvering a large structure very close to a multimillion-dollar aircraft. Even a small mistake can cause delays and inspections that cost airlines significant amounts of money. Our autonomous technology can identify the aircraft type, locate the door, and perform roughly 95 percent of the alignment automatically, leaving only the final adjustment to the operator.
Another example is refuse collection vehicles. Operators may perform around 1,300 bin lifts per day, which creates huge cognitive and physical demands. AI can identify the location of the bin, guide the vehicle into position, automatically deploy the arm, measure weight, and even detect contamination inside the bin. The operator still remains in control, but the most repetitive and difficult tasks are automated. That is what we mean by moments of autonomy — technology assisting people rather than replacing them.
Are these technologies already being implemented?
Yes, implementation is already beginning in stages. In airports, for example, we are deploying autonomous jet bridge technologies, including systems designed to support faster aircraft turnaround times. There is also a roadmap for increasing levels of automation over time. What starts as operator assistance today can gradually evolve into more autonomous functionality as customers become comfortable with it.
We are also working on autonomous airport operations beyond jet bridges. One example is robotic “wing walker” systems. Today, several people are required to guide aircraft into position, especially during difficult weather conditions. Autonomous systems can support or partially automate those functions, helping airports maintain operations safely and efficiently even during storms or labor shortages.
If autonomy can work in such chaotic environments, does that position Oshkosh as a leader for broader industrial automation?
We do see ourselves as leaders within our industries. The same concepts apply across construction, airports, manufacturing plants, and fleet operations. We are already implementing autonomous material retrieval systems in our factories, robotic inspection systems for quality checks, and connected technologies that monitor operations in real time.
The biggest challenge is ensuring that the technology delivers clear economic value. Customers are not buying “cool technology.” They are evaluating total cost of ownership, safety improvements, maintenance savings, productivity gains, and labor efficiencies. If training costs decrease, accidents are reduced, or maintenance becomes predictive instead of reactive, that creates measurable value. Our focus is always on validating that value with customers before scaling deployment.
How does customer experience shape technology adoption in industries like firefighting?
Firefighters are a great example of why technology must remain intuitive. Fire truck operators want every truck to feel familiar because, during an emergency, they cannot spend time figuring out controls or learning a new interface. Anything we introduce behind the scenes has to be seamless and transparent to the operator.
That is why the customer remains at the center of everything we do. We are developing connected technologies and leader-follower systems where one fire truck can automatically follow another, but the operational experience still has to feel natural and familiar. If you forget the operator experience, adoption becomes very difficult regardless of how advanced the technology is.
Do you encounter resistance from customers when introducing AI-driven systems?
Honestly, we do not see much resistance because we do not approach customers by saying, “Here is a new technology.” We approach them by understanding the hardest parts of their operations and demonstrating how technology can solve those problems in a practical way. People care about outcomes, not technology itself.
In fact, we are seeing strong demand from customers. Whenever we showcase new concepts at events like CES, customers immediately ask when they can have the technology. We are fortunate to work with progressive lead customers who are willing to test and validate new systems early. Once those customers adopt the technology successfully, the rest of the market tends to follow.
What excites you most about the next 12 months at Oshkosh?
Across all of our end markets, we are reaching a point where many of these autonomous and AI-driven technologies are becoming real products rather than concepts. In construction, airport operations, and fleet management, we see enormous opportunities to automate difficult and dangerous tasks while improving productivity and safety. We recently acquired a company called Canvas, and we are integrating a number of advanced technologies that I am very excited to see come to market.
We are also expanding advanced fleet management systems, connected safety technologies, and AI-powered controls across our vehicle platforms. Many of our customers are already asking when they can deploy these capabilities. Our priority now is ensuring the engineering, validation, and product development behind these systems are robust enough for large-scale deployment.
