Dr. Takeshi Abe, an expert in researching noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), was named Asian executive of the year at the 2008 Urban Wheel Awards.
“I am very pleased and honored by the Urban Wheel Award,” says Abe. “I am grateful to Ford and to my Ford colleagues who help to develop an environment that accepts diversified people and cultures.”
The annual Urban Wheel Awards honor automotive companies, executives, suppliers, dealers, motorsports organizations and automotive advertisements that recognize the growing clout of multicultural consumers.
An independent panel of journalists determines the winners. The top three finalists in each category are heralded worldwide through a global promotions campaign. The winner in each category is presented an award at the annual Urban Wheel Awards program, held during Press Week of the Detroit Auto Show.
Abe, appointed as a Henry Ford Technical Fellow in 2002, is responsible for Powertrain NVH and related applications, hardware development, methods and tools. He also oversees advanced NVH technology development.
Abe joined Ford in 1997 as a Senior Technical Specialist of Powertrain NVH.
Before joining Ford, Abe had been working for Nissan Motor Co. Ltd for more than 20 years, with experience in Vehicle NVH, Chassis NVH, Engine NVH, Transmission NVH, Driveline NVH and Pass-by Noise.
Abe was also the chairman of the Pass-by Noise Committee of JSAE (Society of Automotive Engineers, Japan) for 11 years.
Abe has led NVH development support and problem solutions on a vast majority of Ford group main products worldwide, including Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Mazda, Aston Martin, Ford South America Operation and Ford of Australia.
He has published and presented technical papers internationally and been asked to deliver keynote speeches from various companies worldwide. Abe won the Henry Ford Technology Award in 2002.
For more on the Urban Wheel Awards, visit urbanwheelawards.com. The 13th annual awards ceremony will take place Jan. 13, 2009.
Look under the hood and you'd discover that Jeff’s lifelong interest and passion in all things automotive was practically genetically encoded. An award-winning journalist, he served on the staff of the San Jose Mercury News and the Los Angeles Times. Today he contributes to many news outlets. Jeff is a graduate of Cal State Long Beach and earned his master's degree at Ohio State University, where he was a Kiplinger fellow. 
