Ned Curic Highlights Customer-First Approach to Technology and Product Development

Stellantis technology executive emphasizes practical innovation, integrated engineering and the importance of building technology around real customer needs.

Illinois, CA, 4th September 2026, ZEX PR WIRE, As artificial intelligence, advanced computing and connected technologies become increasingly important to product development, Ned Curic believes the value of innovation should still be measured by a straightforward standard: whether it makes the product better for the person using it.

Curic, who is responsible for Product Development & Technology at Stellantis and is a member of the Stellantis Leadership Team, has spent his career working across engineering, software and automotive technology.

His approach places the customer at the center of technology decisions rather than treating new technology as an objective on its own.

“Technology only matters if it makes life better for people,” Curic has said.

The principle has become increasingly relevant as companies gain access to more powerful artificial intelligence, computing systems and development tools. The challenge is no longer simply whether a technology can be built or incorporated into a product. Companies must determine where it creates meaningful improvements for customers.

Building Technology Around the Product

For the automotive industry, that distinction is especially important.

Modern vehicles bring together mechanical engineering, electronics, computing, software, design, manufacturing and increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence. Customers, however, experience those individual technologies as one product.

Curic has publicly emphasized the importance of viewing the vehicle as a complete system rather than allowing any individual technology to become the product’s defining purpose.

That philosophy also influences how Stellantis approaches product development.

In February 2025, Stellantis integrated its software activities into the Product Development & Technology organization led by Curic. The company said the change was intended to streamline the process of bringing products and services to market across its brands and markets.

The organizational structure brings technologies that increasingly influence the customer experience closer to the broader engineering and product-development process.

Rather than separating software from the rest of vehicle development, the approach reflects the reality that customers ultimately judge how all parts of a vehicle work together.

From Technical Capability to Customer Value

The rapid development of artificial intelligence provides another example of the distinction between technical capability and practical value.

Stellantis has been exploring AI across areas including engineering, manufacturing, vehicle technology and customer interaction.

Curic has consistently framed those efforts around tangible results.

When Stellantis expanded its collaboration with Mistral AI in 2025, Curic said the companies were exploring applications of artificial intelligence that could enhance product development and the customer experience while delivering real benefits.

That focus places a higher standard on innovation than novelty alone.

A new technology may be technically impressive, but its long-term value depends on whether it can improve quality, simplify an experience, accelerate development, increase capability or address another genuine customer or business need.

The same principle applies as AI becomes a larger part of engineering and product-development workflows.

Technology can help teams analyze information, test ideas, improve development processes and create new experiences. The objective, however, remains the product rather than the technology used to create it.

Innovation Requires Integration

Curic’s perspective has been shaped by a career spanning several technology-intensive industries.

He began his career in Engineering Systems at Northrop Grumman in 1996 before joining Microsoft in 2000, where he held positions in consulting, product, security and advisory functions.

He entered the automotive industry in 2013 as Group Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Toyota Motor North America. In 2015, he became a co-founder of Toyota Connected, serving as Executive Vice President, Technical Director and Board Member.

Curic joined Amazon in 2017 as Vice President of Alexa Automotive, spearheading the company’s efforts in the automotive industry.

In August 2021, he joined Stellantis as Chief Technology Officer. His responsibilities later expanded to encompass engineering and research and development before Stellantis brought software activities into the Product Development & Technology organization in 2025.

Across those roles, Curic has worked in environments where multiple technologies, teams and disciplines must contribute to a single product or customer experience.

That experience underpins an approach to innovation based on integration rather than technology in isolation.

A Practical Standard for Emerging Technology

The number of technologies available to product-development organizations will continue to grow.

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly. Computing capability continues to increase. Development tools are becoming more sophisticated, and vehicles are incorporating increasingly complex electronics and connected functions.

For Curic, those developments do not change the fundamental purpose of technology.

The relevant questions remain practical ones: Does it improve the product? Does it make something easier for the customer? Does it solve a genuine problem? Does it enable an experience that people actually value?

Those questions can also help organizations distinguish lasting innovation from short-term technology trends.

The companies best positioned to benefit from emerging technologies may therefore be those that are most selective about how they use them—integrating technology where it improves the complete product rather than adding capability simply because it is available.

As the automotive industry continues to evolve, Curic’s approach keeps the emphasis on an outcome that is easy to understand even when the technology behind it is increasingly complex: building better products for the people who use them.

About Ned Curic

Ned Curic is responsible for Product Development & Technology at Stellantis and is a member of the Stellantis Leadership Team. He previously served as Vice President of Alexa Automotive at Amazon, Group Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Toyota Motor North America, and held roles in consulting, product, security and advisory functions at Microsoft. He began his career in Engineering Systems at Northrop Grumman.

Curic studied Informatics and Computer Science and received an MBA from Pepperdine University’s George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management in 2012.

For more information, visit NedCuric.com.