Leadership and Governance

Cerence AI Management Team

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

Jennifer Salinas

Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer

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’s legal team as the company’s General Counsel, as well as the Global Technology Services organization. Prior to joining Cerence 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.

Nils Schanz

Executive Vice President, Product & Technology

As Executive Vice President, Product & Technology, Nils Schanz leads Cerence’s global technology, engineering, and product development organization, driving alignment across innovation, product, and customer delivery and positioning Cerence to meet the current and future needs of its customers. A respected and accomplished automotive and AI technology leader, Nils joined Cerence 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.

Christian Mentz

Chief Revenue Officer

As Chief Revenue Officer, Christian Mentz drives Cerence’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’s sales, business development, sales engineering, and marketing teams. A seasoned automotive technology executive, Christian joined Cerence 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.

Tony Rodriquez

Chief Financial Officer

As CFO, Tony is responsible for the management and oversight of Cerence’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.

Cerence AI Board of Directors

Brian Krzanich

President and Chief Executive Officer

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

Brian graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in chemistry.

Arun Sarin

Chairman of the Board

Mr. Sarin served as Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Group Plc from 2003 until his retirement in 2008. Mr. Sarin began his career at Pacific Telesis Group in 1984. He progressed through various management positions there and at AirTouch Communications Inc., which Pacific Telesis spun off in 1994, and was named president and chief operating officer of AirTouch in 1997. After AirTouch merged with Vodafone in 1999, he was appointed chief executive officer of Vodafone’s U.S./Asia-Pacific region. He left Vodafone in 2000 to become Chief Executive Officer of InfoSpace, Inc., and from 2001 until 2003, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Accel-KKR Telecom. After his retirement in 2008, he served as a senior advisor to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for five years. Mr. Sarin currently serves as a director at The Charles Schwab Corporation, and Accenture plc, and Ola Electric. He previously served as a director of Safeway, Inc. from 2009 to 2015 and Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc. from 2009 to 2018; and Cisco Systems Inc. from 2009 to 2020. Mr. Sarin holds M.B.A. and Master of Science (Engineering) degrees from University of California-Berkeley and a B.S. from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India.

Thomas Beaudoin

Director

Tom Beaudoin has been a member of the Cerence Board of Directors since the company’s inception in 2019. As Cerence’s Chief Financial Officer from May 2022 until 2024 and as the former head of Business Transformation at Nuance Communications leading the spin-out of Cerence, Tom has an extensive track record with Cerence and the automotive and software industries. His previous roles include Chief Transformation Officer of Qualifacts as well as Chief Financial Officer for SimpliVity, where he helped orchestrate its successful sale to Hewlett Packard Enterprise. He also served as Executive Vice President and CFO at Nuance for seven years, where he led all financial, IT and administrative functions. He earned both his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees from Babson College.

Marianne Budnik

Director

Marianne Budnik is an accomplished technology industry leader with extensive marketing and cybersecurity expertise. Ms. Budnik has served as Chief Marketing Officer for Talon Cyber Security since March 2022. Previously, Ms. Budnik served as Chief Marketing Officer for CrowdStrike from December 2020 through March 2022, where she also oversaw the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. From May 2017 through December 2020, Ms. Budnik served as Chief Marketing Officer for CyberArk, a leader in Privileged Access Management and Identity Security solutions. Her previous experience includes leadership roles with SimpliVity, Acme Packet, CA Technologies, and EMC Corporation. Ms. Budnik earned an M.B.A. from Boston University and holds a bachelor’s degree from Babson College. She also serves on the Board of publicly traded F5, and as a member of F5's audit and risk oversight committee.

Douglas Davis

Director

Mr. Davis is a renowned and respected leader within the automotive, autonomous driving and IoT industries, having had an impressive 35-year career at Intel Corporation. Mr. Davis most recently served as Senior Vice President of Intel’s Automated Driving Group, where he formed the company’s automated driving business, established Intel as a leading supplier of chip technology for autonomous vehicles, and led the company’s acquisition of Mobileye. He has deep relationships with nearly every automotive OEM, automotive technology innovator, and Tier 1 supplier. Mr. Davis has a range of board experience and is currently a director for Oshkosh Corporation and for Verra Mobility. Mr. Davis holds a M.B.A. from the Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business and a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University.

Sanjay Jha

Director

Mr. Jha has served as a General Partner at Eclipse Ventures since 2019. Mr. Jha was Chief Executive Officer of GlobalFoundries Inc. the world’s second-largest semiconductor foundry business from 2014 to 2018. Prior to joining GlobalFoundries, Mr. Jha was Chief Executive Officer for Motorola Mobile Devices from 2008 to 2012, a role he held until the company’s acquisition by Google. Before joining Motorola, Mr. Jha was at Qualcomm for over 14 years, ending his tenure at Qualcomm as the Chief Operating Officer (2006 to 2008) and President of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (2002 to 2008). Mr. Jha was a member of the board of directors of the Semiconductor Industry Association and also served as Chairman of the Global Semiconductor Alliance. Additionally, he is a member of the board of trustees of UC San Diego and the Salk Institute and serves of the board of several private start-ups. Mr. Jha holds a Ph.D. (2001), and D.Sc (Hon) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Strathclyde. He was inducted into the US National Academy of Engineering in 2018.

Marcy Klevorn

Director

Ms. Klevorn is a known and respected automotive and mobility industry leader, having spent 35 years at Ford Motor Company. During her tenure, she held varying executive and leadership roles within the company’s information technology organization, including global Chief Information Officer (CIO) and, previously, CIO of Ford Motor Company in Europe. Ms. Klevorn also served as EVP and President of Ford Mobility, where she oversaw Ford Smart Mobility LLC and its acquisitions and other investments that accelerated the company’s plans to design, build, grow, and invest in emerging mobility services. In this role, she also chaired the board of Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC. Ms. Klevorn most recently served as the Chief Transformation Officer of Ford Motor Company, where she accelerated Ford’s transformation efforts by refining its corporate governance and fostering adoption of process improvements and agile teams. She also led partnerships with key technology partners and played a critical role in the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Ms. Klevorn currently sits on the Boards of Directors of Northern Trust Corporation and Humana and on the Provost Advisory Committee at the University of Michigan. She holds a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Kristi Ann Matus

Director

Ms. Matus has been an executive advisor to Thomas H. Lee Partners since 2017. From 2014 to 2016 Ms. Matus served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at athenahealth, Inc. From 2012 to 2013, Ms. Matus served as Executive Vice President and Head of Governmental Services at Aetna, Inc. Prior to Aetna, she held several senior leadership roles at United Services Automobile Association, including Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2008 to 2012. She began her career at Thrivent where she held various financial and operational roles for over a decade. Ms. Matus currently serves as a director at AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. and AllianceBernstein Holding L.P.

Alfred Nietzel

Director

Mr. Nietzel has been an independent consultant since 2017. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Nietzel served as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at CDK Global, Inc. Prior to CDK’s spin-off, Mr. Nietzel was with Automatic Data Processing, Inc. since 2001 and served as Chief Financial Officer for the Dealer Services Division, Chief Financial Officer for the Employer Services Division and ADP’s Corporate Controller. Prior to joining ADP, Mr. Nietzel served for 17 years with Proctor & Gamble Inc. in numerous financial management roles in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Mr. Nietzel holds a B.S. degree from Eastern Illinois University.

Committees composition

	Audit Committee	Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee	Compensation Committee
Marianne Budnik		Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee	Compensation Committee
Douglas Davis		Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Sanjay Jha	Audit Committee
Marcy Klevorn		Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee	Compensation Committee
Kristi Ann Matus	Audit Committee
Alfred Nietzel	Audit Committee		Compensation Committee