Group honors those driving Southern Nevada economy forward

Jenn Smulo / Courtesy

From left, Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance board member Derrick Hill, Abe Ghabra of Aptiv and LVGEA President and CEO Jonas Peterson pose for a photo during the group’s annual awards dinner Sept. 26, 2019, at the Aria.

Aptiv, a company focused on driverless car technology, has seen its presence in Las Vegas grow from a dozen or so employees last year to some 200 today.

That rapid expansion earned the company this year’s Job Creation Award from the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, which held its annual awards dinner Thursday at the Aria.

The award recognizes a business that has expanded or relocated to the Las Vegas area, helping grow the economy through the creation of new, high-quality jobs.

The Irish company has a fleet of about 75 autonomous vehicles in Las Vegas, with about two dozen of them offering rides via the Lyft ride-hailing service.

For now, Aptiv’s self-driving cars on public roads are manned with human monitors, including two employees in the Lyft vehicles. The next step is testing them on the street with nobody inside and to launch a pilot program in 2022 for completely driverless Lyft cars, the company said.

Abe Ghabra, managing director of Aptiv’s Las Vegas operation, also teased a $4 billion research and development deal with carmaker Hyundai, although he did not discuss details.

“Our team in Las Vegas represents more than one-third of the global team that will create this new joint venture,” Ghabra said.

Other award recipients Thursday included Applied Analysis Principal Analyst Jeremy Aguero, who took home the Leadership Award, and North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, who received the Chairman’s Award.

Lee, who took office in 2013, has helped recruit companies like Amazon, Fanatics and the Honest Company to North Las Vegas.

Aguero, a 1996 UNLV graduate, has expertise in economic analysis, operational model development and fiscal impact analysis. He has worked for clients in the private and public sectors and on projects including the nearly $2 billion Allegiant Stadium, which is expected to be finished in August.

“I am incredibly honored to be recognized by the LVGEA and its member businesses,” Aguero said. “Their collective efforts have been instrumental in the revitalization and diversification of our economy.”

The Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce received the group’s Partnership Award, and the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights took home the Innovation Award for breakthrough achievements that have significantly impacted the Southern Nevada economy.

During the 2018-19 NHL season, the Golden Knights averaged more than 18,300 fans a game at T-Mobile Arena, which ranked No. 12 in the 31-team league.

“We’ve become the envy of the National Hockey League, and we’re proud of that,” Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz said.

“Sometimes risk gets lost when people talk about innovation. I want to thank (team owner) Bill Foley. Six-plus years ago, a lot of people thought spending a half-billion dollars for professional hockey in the desert was a really bad idea. He didn’t care, and he stuck with it,” Bubolz said.

More than 600 people attended Thursday’s awards dinner.

A public-private partnership, the alliance’s mission is to develop the economies of Las Vegas, Clark County, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City and Mesquite.

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