world-class destinations and developing
innovation communities with a focus on
mobility all fit the bill for the job.
Culler noted that Sirefman has done
large-scale developments, worked in
government and been deep in the weeds
of public-private partnerships, which
Sidewalk Labs pursued in a Toronto-
based project.
“We’ve seen his deep commitment to
community that he has, which is really
important for us, and he saw the power
of the project, which is a testament to
his vision,” Culler noted. “He’s building
a world-class team and has already
hired some amazing folks. He’s bringing
in fantastic expertise to really dig into
some of these, frankly, difficult issues.
He’s looked at what we’ve done, had
strong alignment with the strategy; he’s
improved upon the strategy and taken it
to the next level.”
For Sirefman, the value proposition to
recruit talent and new tenants is clear: It’s

being part of a community of economic
activity of brainpower and talent.
It’s about being among others doing
related work, which has a high value, as
entrepreneurs don’t want to work in a
silo.
There’s already been achievement in
the physical infrastructure side spanning
technologies around inductive charging
in the pavement (the first wireless
EV-charging road system in the nation is
to be created at Michigan Central Station
by Israeli startup Electreon, which was
announced earlier this year) that will
allow companies to both test and deploy
their solutions. But it also includes digital
infrastructure, which relates to the ability
for companies to capture data in a very
transparent way.
Sirefman also remarked upon the
policy infrastructure side, which allows
tenants to more easily work with the city
of Detroit through the Transportation
Innovation Zone to bring government to

the table.
Finally, the social infrastructure
element allows stakeholders in the
mobility ecosystem to more easily engage
with the community during the working
process. “Interestingly, from a global
perspective, we’re seeing evidence that
companies really get that this will be
a portal for their entry into the North
American market, and that there are
assets and advantages of Southeast
Michigan and Detroit. Michigan Central
is sort of the natural place for them to
land,” Sirefman said.

A ’VIBRANT’ ENGINE
A decade from now, Sirefman sees the
possibility of Michigan Central as an
extraordinary, alive and vibrant place —
an engine of both innovative work, but
also of the energy of Detroit. He wants
it to truly be viewed as an asset and a
resource by all Detroiters.
“We’re trying to create an open
platform, where a decade from now,
Michigan Central has legitimately moved
the needle on the ability to attract and
retain or train a talent base that is on par
with the West Coast, East Coast, Texas,
wherever it may be,” Sirefman said.
That extraordinary impact has happened
for Detroit in the last century. He sees
remarkable innovation happening within
the ecosystem that can accelerate the
adoption of electrification, and whatever
new solutions are needed that drive the
industry toward a more sustainable and
equitable approach to mobility.
“Personally, I do think that those are
the kinds of outcomes that would truly
define success,” he said.

continued from page 33

34 | NOVEMBER 10 • 2022

BUSINESS
COVER STORY

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FORD

Josh Sirefman
spoke at the World
Economic Forum’s
Urban Transformation
Summit earlier in the
year.