Technology, Market Strategy and Corporate Quality for Alcoa in 2006. He had served as Chief Technical Officer and a vice president of the company since 2003. He is responsible for corporate technology programs and projects, as well as strategic product and process developments. Dr. Zaidi was also a member of the Alcoa Executive Council, the senior leadership group that provides strategic direction for the company. Overall, two-thirds of Dr. Zaidi's career has focused on technology management, and the other third has focused on manufacturing and business management. Dr. Zaidi joined Alcoa in 1985 at the Alcoa Technical Center, near Pittsburgh, as a Senior Engineer and has since held assignments of increasing responsibility, including in 1991 being named Manager of Technology Development and Transfer for the aluminum-intensive vehicle. This assignment included development of the aluminum spaceframe used on the Audi A8, later the Ferrari Modena and multiple other vehicles, globally. Dr. Zaidi moved to Germany in 1992 for the startup of the Alcoa Automotive GmbH plant in Soest, Germany. In 1995, he was named Director of Product Strategy, which involved new automotive product development and related technologies, and in 1997 Vice President of Technology Development for Alcoa's automotive business. He returned to the Pittsburgh area in 1998 as Director of Technology for worldwide automotive and extrusions, with accountability for best practice transfer and technology management throughout Alcoa's extrusion and automotive businesses worldwide. In 2001, Dr. Zaidi became president of Alcoa Automotive's Fabrication and Assembly business and Chief Operating Officer of Alcoa's Automotive Castings business. Dr. Zaidi previously served as Chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's 'Business role focus area' and co-chaired the Vision 2050 project.He currently serves on the Strategic Advisory Board of Braemar Energy Ventures, based in New York.