In the fall of 1972, The Saturday Evening Post featured a smiling Richard Nixon on its cover, locked in the throes of Watergate. But tucked inside that same issue was an interview with a lesser-known name at the time – David E. Cole, a young associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. He was explaining the inner mechanics of the Wankel rotary engine, a conversation that would, unintentionally, shape the trajectory of one of the most influential gatherings in the history of the automotive industry: the Management Briefing Seminars (MBS).

The origin of MBS was far from glamorous. It began in 1965, in the basement of the Park Place Hotel in downtown Traverse City, as an experimental meeting place where manufacturing experts and academics could engage in open dialogue away from the rigidity of corporate boardrooms. Organized by Don Smith, a forward-thinking leader from the University of Michigan’s Institute of Science and Technology, the goal was simple yet radical for its time: create a neutral ground for learning, debate, and real-world problem-solving. The auto industry, while not yet the centerpiece, had a seat at the table. Over time, that seat became the head. What made MBS different from the start is that it became, and remains, a space where the industry can look itself squarely in the mirror. Traverse City wasn’t just a geographic escape from Detroit – it was a behavioral one. Despite the convivial atmosphere, MBS became a place where serious, and often painful, soul-searching could unfold. Attendees detached from their day-to-day pressures and engaged in honest, strategic conversations about the industry’s biggest challenges. It’s a behavioral principle we understand even more clearly now: environment shapes cognition. And MBS, by design or accident, built an ecosystem that allowed some of the most impactful decisions and insights in automotive history to emerge without pretence.

As the years passed, the event evolved in both scope and scale. Attendees began bringing their families, turning a work trip into a community retreat. Social events were added. Sponsors signed on. Executives who once stayed behind began attending in droves, realizing the immense networking value and intellectual capital MBS offered. By the 1980s, the conference had migrated from the Park Place basement to the Grand Traverse Resort, complete with golf on Jack Nicklaus’s “The Bear” and keynotes from industry giants. What started as a quiet gathering had become, for many, the auto industry’s answer to Davos.

The list of those who have shaped MBS over the years reads like a hall of fame. General Motors’ Roger Smith used the stage to unveil grand visions like Project Saturn. Lee Iacocca used it to critique American manufacturing’s complacency in the face of Japanese innovation. Sergio Marchionne famously raised eyebrows when he questioned supplier margins – sparking fiery dialogue that reverberated through the industry. These weren’t just speeches. They were moments of reckoning. Moments of recalibration. MBS wasn’t a marketing platform. It was, and still is, where the automotive industry confronts its realities.

And yet, for all the luminaries and legacy, the essence of MBS has remained unchanged: it is a neutral space for truth-telling and forward-thinking. The location may shift – this year’s move to the newly restored Michigan Central Station in Detroit is both symbolic and strategic – but the soul of MBS endures. It continues to be the space where OEMs, suppliers, policymakers, and disruptors come not to protect the status quo, but to challenge it.

In an era where transformation is the norm – from EV mandates and AI integration to geopolitical tariffs and supply chain upheaval – the role of MBS is more urgent than ever. The industry doesn’t need more noise. It needs clarity. It needs candor. It needs connection. And it needs a space where those conversations can happen with both rigor and respect.

As we step into MBS 2025, we do so not just as participants of a conference, but as inheritors of a tradition. A tradition of courageous dialogue, cross-sector collaboration, and catalytic change. The past reminds us of what’s possible. The present demands we build on it.