Benigno (Ben) Cruz is Director of the Center for Advanced Automotive Technology (CAAT) at Macomb Community College (MCC). Prior to joining CAAT on July 1, 2019, Ben was a Senior Engineering Group Manager responsible for the GM Climatic Wind Tunnels and the HVAC Laboratories.

He was responsible for vehicle development and validation testing in wind tunnels capable of replicating extreme environments and drive conditions for validation testing. Ben retired from GM March 29, 2019.

Ben also had past assignments at GM Mexico where he was responsible for construction, staffing and start-up of a proving ground and a laboratory in Mexico. Ben also had an assignment as Engineering Development Manager at the Desert Proving Ground in Arizona. Ben holds a BSE from Arizona State University, and an MBA from University of Phoenix.