GREGORY W. FISHER:
Founder and CEO of Fisher Coachworks, LLC in Oak Park. The firm was founded to commercialize new hybrid technology and establish the foundation for a family of vehicles to address growing needs for energy efficiency and oil independence. Fisher met with Rochester Hills-based Autokinetics and researched the company’s plug-in hybrid electric transit bus funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. He felt the technology was key to launching a new venture focused on commercial hybrid vehicle manufacturing. After several years of discussions and negotiation, Fisher licensed the technology and partnered with Autokinetics and its president, Bruce Emmons, to bring the technology to market. The Fisher Hybrid Bus provides advanced chassis design coupled with an efficient serial drive power train utilizing a high-capacity electrical energy storage system. Prior to Fisher Coachworks, Fisher was founder and president of Fisher/Unitech and grew the CAD reseller business to 11 locations in five Midwestern states. Before that, a five-year tenure with Electronic Data Systems included international management experience at the Nissan Technical Center in Japan, where he learned the benefits of applying computer-aided design technologies to all phases of engineering development. He began his career as an application engineer with Applicon and then with Intergraph Corporation in Alabama. Fisher’s grandfather was one of the brothers who formed the Fisher Body Company in 1908. An active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, Fisher also serves on the board of several local organizations. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from the University of San Diego.
