Johann Pankau, NVH Consulting LLC
Founder and Chief Technical Officer
<br> \*\*35 Years of Unique
Worldwide Automotive Engineering
Expertise\*\* Throughout his
professional career, Johann has gained
unparalleled expertise in automotive
R&D, particularly in vehicle
chassis, tires, and brakes. He also
possesses deep knowledge of vehicle
NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness),
ride and comfort, and computational
methods. In January 2025, Johann
started NVH Consulting LLC, an
operation targeting mainly the
automotive industry but also other
sectors, such as aerospace and
consumer electronics. Up to the end of
2024, Johann Pankau led Tire NVH
activities at Continental Tire NA,
where he was responsible for tire NVH,
Ride & Comfort, simulation,
vehicle interaction, and optimization.
Johann earned a master’s degree in
applied mechanics from Darmstadt
University of Technology in Germany in
1990. He began his professional career
right after graduation at ITT Teves in
Germany. In his early years, he was
responsible for brake rotor
development, brake NVH, and brake
finite element computation. In 1998,
he moved to the company’s operations
in North America to lead brake
simulations and NVH activities.
Starting in 2000, he built a
state-of-the-art NVH laboratory under
Continental Teves, serving all company
business units. In 2004, he
successfully transformed the
department into a profit-center
operation, serving both internal and
external customers. From 2012 to 2024,
he focused on tire R&D, leading
tire NVH and Ride & Comfort
activities in the Americas. Beyond his
industry career, he has contributed to
the education of future engineers by
teaching a Vehicle Dynamics course at
Oakland University in Michigan for the
last 15 years.