Nissan's Elsa Foley named 2024 Automotive News Rising Star

September 27, 2024 by Nissan

Foley recognized for pioneering ground-breaking vehicle features and advancing technology and innovation at Nissan

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Elsa Foley, senior manager, Product Planning – Technology & Innovation, Nissan North America, is named a 2024 Automotive News Rising Star.

In her current role, Foley leads a team responsible for managing all common cross-car line attributes within the vehicle ecosystem, including Automated Driving and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Onboard Experiences, Feature and Technology plans and Electric Vehicle strategies. Foley also spearheads the newly minted Innovation Team which collaborates with Nissan's Advanced R&D teams to expedite breakthroughs in future products.

Foley co-pioneered the patented Rear Door Alert (RDA) technology, which alerts Nissan drivers of items left in the back seats of their vehicles. This ground-breaking technological advancement can now be found in every Nissan model.

Foley has held various roles in her 14 years at Nissan, including a two-year foreign service assignment at the Nissan Technical Center in Atsugi, Japan. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from Northeastern University in Boston.

The Automotive News 'Rising Stars' program honors dynamic executives in the U.S. who are 45 or younger and poised to grow in prominence or step into senior leadership roles. Automotive News has published its list of the industry's up-and-comers annually since 2014.