Stacey Stewart joins Potential advisory board
Potential, a company that develops camera-vision technologies to enable vehicles to recognize terrain ahead and autonomously adjust vehicle settings, has appointed Stacey Stewart as a strategic advisor. Steward has a 35-year engineering career that includes several leadership roles at Polaris in motorcycle and off-road vehicle divisions.
“Stacey brings with him an incredible mix of commercial and technical expertise across powersports and motorcycles sectors, which are two of our three core markets,” says Sam Poirier, CEO of Potential. Potential’s third market is automotive.
“The team at Potential is bringing the next level of performance and safety to the recreational off-road and motorcycle market, allowing riders to more fully utilize the capability of their vehicles,” Stewart says. “Potential’s technology will become the standard of performance in the challenging powersports environment. I am excited to be a part of this ground-breaking effort.”
Potential’s camera-vision technologies include Terrain Intelligence, which reads the surface of the path ahead and can automatically and proactively make changes to suspension, driveline and engine mode settings in advance of hazards or changes in conditions and slope. The company is also working on in-cab solutions that improve rider experience in other ways.
“Stacey’s technical, commercial and leadership experience at Polaris alone makes him a key target for any business operating in powersports and motorcycle sectors,” says Bill Lamey, CTO of Potential.
Stewart’s final role at Polaris, from 2017 to 2021, was to lead the off-road vehicles systems engineering team in a senior engineering director capacity, where he delivered important improvements in cab comfort, suspension performance and driveline technology.
He also headed up product development for new Polaris vehicles from 2015 to 2017 as director of engineering in the work and transport division, established a powersports center of excellence in Switzerland to serve Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and started up a new plant in Poland. Before these roles, Stewart spent a decade in the company’s motorcycle division, with a particular focus on improving vehicle dynamics.
“We’re already working with key customers in powersports and motorcycles, many of whom we can’t publicly name at this time,” Poirier says. “Bringing Stacey on board will help us as we develop new products for these markets, and as we progress from pilot projects to pre-production programs and on into full-scale production contracts.”
Stewart also worked at the aerospace and defense company Textron and spent five years in the mining industry. Post-Polaris, he has held VP positions at e-bike startup Rad Power Bikes, and electric vehicle charge point operator EVgo.
“Stacey has an all-round knowledge base that is perfect for the growth curve and commercialization phase we’re entering, and will really help us make sure we’re talking the right language of manufacturers in these key sectors,” says Bill.
Stewart joins Potential’s superstar advisory team, which includes Scott Kunselman, the automotive off-road guru who was formerly chief engineer at Ram Trucks, and Marcel Lebrun and Chris Newton of Radian6 (acquired by SalesForce), alongside investors who include IBM’s Q1 Labs and Mark Benioff’s TIME Ventures and Brightspark Ventures.
“Potential’s advisory board now includes luminaries across our major target markets, who will help us take the right steps and make the smartest choices at every stage,” Poirier says. “This really is a team of superstars, and the future for Potential is very bright as a result.”
