The driving force behind the iPod is joining Canadian auto-parts giant Magna International as the auto industry continues its push towards further innovation.

Tony Fadell, co-founder of Internet-of-things company Nest and creator of the Apple’s iPod, will be a key member of a new advisory council that will lay down Magna's technology road map.

"[We] have talked about all kinds of visions for the automotive industry and personal mobility in general as well as other startup companies and ways to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley, Detroit and the world-wide auto industry that they serve," he told BNN.

Fadell said he will be advising Magna on new business models and ways of thinking as the auto sector shifts towards areas such as self-driving cars, artificial intelligence or electric vehicles. He compared the current industry disruption to the one the cellphone industry went through after Apple released the iPhone, which he also helped create.

"The traditional players that were there, many of them have evaporated post-iPhone," Fadell said. "And if you look at the transition and the Cambrian explosion in personal mobility that's about to happen over the next two decades — I think a lot of the players that are there today, some of them will not be there in 20 years."

But as to whether Magna should make a push in any particular direction, Fadell said he wouldn’t put Magna – or any other company in the sector – inside a box.

"I wouldn't put anybody in one lane today and say that's the only thing they're going to do," he said.