Executive Team

Brian Krzanich is President and CEO of Cerence AI and a member of the Company's Board of Directors. Brian joined Cerence AI in October 2024.

Brian is an engineer and business executive, best known for his tenure as the CEO of Intel Corporation. He joined Intel in 1982 as a process engineer and in his early career rose through the ranks in manufacturing, working on key projects involving the company’s factory operations and supply chains. His technical expertise, combined with his leadership skills, led to various senior roles, including overseeing Intel’s global manufacturing, supply chain, and infrastructure. In 2013, Brian was appointed CEO of Intel Corp. In this role, he faced the challenge of guiding Intel through a rapidly changing technology landscape, including the shift from PC-centric computing to mobile- and data-centric technologies. Brian focused on expanding Intel’s reach beyond traditional CPUs to areas like artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and the Internet of Things (IoT), and was also known for championing diversity and sustainability initiatives, pledging to increase female and minority representation in Intel’s workforce, and committing the company to sourcing conflict-free minerals. In 2018, Brian joined CDK Global, a technology provider for the automotive industry, where he served as CEO from 2019 to 2022. During his tenure he led the technology company through a successful sale to investment firm Brookfield Business Partners for $8.3B. Brian graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in chemistry.

As CFO, Tony is responsible for the management and oversight of Cerence AI’s finance organization, including accounting, tax, FP&A, treasury, facilities, and procurement. Tony previously served as a partner of CSuite Financial Partners, a financial executive services firm, during which he served as Chief Financial Officer of The Bouqs Company from 2019 to 2023 and as interim Chief Financial Officer of Cerence AI from June 2024 until becoming an employee of Cerence AI on November 29, 2024. He has more than 25 years of experience as a financial leader managing all aspects of finance and accounting for both public and private global companies, including in the eCommerce, SaaS, advertising media and consumer marketing industries. Prior to joining CSuite Financial Partners, he served as Chief Financial Officer of TouchCommerce Inc. from 2010 to 2018. Tony began his career at KPMG LLP where he serviced international public and private companies in the manufacturing, retail, distribution, and technology sectors as an assurance senior manager. Tony is a certified public accountant (inactive) with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting from California State University, Northridge.

As Chief Revenue Officer, Christian Mentz drives Cerence AI’s go-to-market strategy, accelerating growth and expanding the company’s relationships with its automaker and mobility customers worldwide. In this role, Christian leads Cerence AI’s sales, business development, sales engineering, and marketing teams. A seasoned automotive technology executive, Christian joined Cerence AI from Amazon, where he most recently led Global Business Development and Marketing for Amazon Smart Vehicles and was responsible for commercial operations and go-to-market strategies across a wide range of automotive digital cabin products and services. Previously, Christian held progressing automotive sales leadership roles at Nuance Communications, including Vice President - Automotive Sales & Sales Engineering. He holds a Master’s Degree in Communications from The Philipp University of Marburg, Germany, and continued his education in Change and Innovation Management at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

As EVP & Chief Administrative Officer, Jennifer Salinas oversees the company’s day-to-day administrative activities and corporate operations, including facilitating strategic planning, partnering with the leadership team to define and track company-level and functional objectives, advancing policy and process improvement, and leading the company’s ongoing transformation efforts. Jennifer also leads Cerence AI’s legal team as the company’s General Counsel, as well as the Global Technology Services organization. Prior to joining Cerence AI as SVP & General Counsel in April 2022, Jennifer was Head of Litigation at Lenovo, the largest PC company worldwide, and General Counsel of the Infrastructure Solutions Group, a $7 billion Lenovo business unit. Her extensive background also includes more than 25 years of experience, including ten years as a Partner at several prominent law firms. Jennifer is the former President of the Hispanic National Bar Association and has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout her career. Jennifer earned her Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University Los Angeles, graduating cum laude and in the order of the coif, and a bachelor’s in Political Science from San Diego State University.

As Executive Vice President, Product & Technology, Nils Schanz leads Cerence AI’s global technology, engineering, and product development organization, driving alignment across innovation, product, and customer delivery and positioning Cerence AI to meet the current and future needs of its customers. A respected and accomplished automotive and AI technology leader, Nils joined Cerence AI from Mercedes-Benz AG and Daimler, where he developed the highly regarded MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience), the automaker’s intuitive, high-tech multimedia system, and launched other widely acclaimed innovations such as the award-winning MBUX Hyperscreen and the Voice Assistant “Hey Mercedes.” He most recently served as Global Head of User Interaction & Voice Control, leading a cross-functional team with global responsibility for digital user interface and user experience. Prior to his most recent role, Nils held a variety of positions at Daimler and Mercedes-Benz in R&D, Product Management, and Marketing. In addition to his Germany-based roles, he also spent time in Silicon Valley as Director of IoT & Wearables at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America.