Ajay Gnanasekaran

Ajay Gnanasekaran is the senior program director of the Battery Workforce Challenge, a three-year EV collegiate competition managed by Argonne National Laboratory’s Sustainable Transportation Education and Partnerships Department and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and Stellantis. Here Gnanasekaran leads the program’s comprehensive workforce development program aimed at building a domestic workforce to support in-demand jobs in battery manufacturing and engineering.

Previously Gnanasekaran served as vice president of Vietnamese EV manufacturer Vinfast’s Product and Operations department in the Battery Research and Development Institute and VinES Energy Solutions, the battery development and manufacturing arm of its corporate owner Vingroup. In this role, he led a 57-person team, supporting battery cell development, pilot production and equipment manufacturing. One of his key projects at the company was to lead a team developing a super-fast charge prismatic battery.   

Prior to joining Vinfast, Gnanasekaran was the director of strategy Panasonic Energy of North America’s Project Management Office, overseeing 18 program managers and PENA’s operations at its Reno gigafactory. He also led PENA’s battery manufacturing expansion into DeSoto, Kansas. Here Gnanasekaran worked closely with senior leadership to develop the company’s expansion and workforce strategy and with government and community leaders, workforce organizations and economic development groups to develop a workforce pathway to support their local manufacturing workforce needs.  

Gnanasekaran holds a bachelor’s in aeronautical engineering from Anna University and a master’s in business administration from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. During his master’s program, Gnanasekaran competed in EcoCAR 2, a former Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition, serving as the team’s project manager. 

Gnanasekaran brings a wealth of knowledge about battery manufacturing to the position as well as a strong appreciation for the educational value of the AVTC program that started his professional career.