International Road Federation (IRF )

Dan Chen

Dan Chen

President, 3M Transportation Safety Division

Dan Chen is President of 3M’s Transportation Safety Division. 3M is a Fortune 500 diverse manufacturing company that applies science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. As a senior leader, Dan drives global growth for 3M in the road safety and infrastructure industry. Dan is passionate about road safety and Vision Zero initiatives to reduce the 1.35 million roadway fatalities every year. He frequently engages with transportation authorities, mobility companies and development banks around the world on topics including strategies for safer roads, and trends that impact the future of transportation including connected and automated vehicles, urbanization and micro-mobility. 

His professional experience includes research and product development, marketing, and business development, strategy and management. Dan is co-inventor on 11 filed or issued patents for 3M, including the largest unit volume disposable respirator design on the market globally today. 

Dan is a member of the Minnesota Governor’s Advisory Council on Connected and Automated Vehicles, a board member of the non-profit Sustainable Resources Center in Minneapolis, and advisory board member of Texas Transportation Institute and Voi Mobility Safety Council. He holds B.S and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin respectively, and an Executive MBA from INSEAD in Fountainebleau, France. He is also a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Minnesota. 

Personal interests for Dan include team sports including soccer and hockey, and alpine, Nordic and water skiing. He resides in St. Paul, Minnesota with his wife Cornelia and two teenaged sons.