Los Angeles, CA, March 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EVgo, the nation’s largest network of public electric vehicle (EV) fast charging stations, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with clean energy industry veterans to accelerate its delivery of fast charging to electric vehicle owners and operators across the country. Julie Blunden has joined EVgo’s executive team, as Cathy Zoi officially transitions from interim to permanent Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company.
Zoi, who joined EVgo as interim CEO in November 2017, is a distinguished executive with decades of experience in clean energy, investing, public policy and management. Four months after relocating to Southern California, Zoi and Vision Ridge Partners, the controlling investor in EVgo, have come to an agreement to appoint her permanent CEO. Her leadership experience and proven track record will help continue EVgo’s growth and build on its market-leading position as the nation’s largest public network of EV fast chargers.
“Cathy Zoi is an outstanding partner in growing EVgo and fast-tracking delivery of fast charging across the country,” said Reuben Munger, Managing Partner of Vision Ridge Partners, LLC. “Cathy has moved quickly to scale EVgo, and we are thrilled that she has already recruited Julie to further strengthen her leadership team. EVgo is making the electrified future a reality today, and this team makes EVgo’s bright future even brighter.”
“I am excited to continue to work with Vision Ridge and the team at EVgo to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicles across the U.S. through expansion of EVgo’s public fast charging network,” said Zoi. “As automakers begin selling more long-range and lower-cost EV models, 2018 is a critical year for the transportation sector, and EVgo is well-positioned to continue to lead the way in providing convenient fast charging solutions for the more American drivers.”
Prior to joining EVgo, Zoi served as a clean energy industry senior executive, investor, academic and a senior policymaker. Most recently she served as President of Odyssey Energy, a distributed generation software company that she co-founded. With Odyssey now well-established and its growth trajectory strong, Zoi will transition to the position of Odyssey’s Executive Chairman.
In addition to the transition from interim to permanent CEO, Zoi is continuing to build her senior management team at EVgo with the announcement of Julie Blunden as Executive Vice President for Business Development. Blunden brings decades of experience and significant accomplishments in the clean energy sector, and stands ready to bring her acumen to contribute to the growth of EVgo.
In her role as Executive Vice President for Business Development, Julie Blunden will join CEO Cathy Zoi and CFO Chris O’Donnell to set the company’s strategy and manage and expand EVgo’s partnerships with automakers, site hosts and mobility providers. As part of her duties, she will also lead marketing, communications and policy strategy and implementation. Blunden brings more than three decades of executive experience to EVgo, including growing rapidly expanding companies in new energy markets, including senior roles at SunPower, Green Mountain Energy, KEMA Xenergy, and SunEdison, as well as serving as Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of ClimateWorks Foundation. She is Board Chair of CalCEF Catalyst and Board Member of CalCEF Ventures, as well as founder of her own consulting practice, and former Executive in Residence for the Global Energy Management Program at the University of Colorado Denver’s Business School. Blunden has an engineering and environmental studies degree from Dartmouth College and a Masters of Business Administration from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
“Julie Blunden is one of the sharpest minds in clean energy with more than three decades of experience in all aspects of the power industry,” said Cathy Zoi, EVgo’s CEO. “She will be instrumental in helping EVgo deliver on our commitments to our customers and create EV charging solutions for millions of American drivers.”
For more information on EVgo, including its new, low-cost, no commitment fast charging plans, visit EVgo.com.
About EVgo
EVgo currently operates the largest public DC fast charging network in the country, with over 1,000 fast chargers in sixty-six of the top-selling automotive metro areas in the US, and supports all current charging standards. EVgo is committed to maintaining and operating its charging stations and provides exemplary service. EVgo offers a variety of flexible charging plans for drivers including pay-as-you-go and low-cost membership charging plans, as well as unlimited charging plans for customers of partner automakers, including BMW and Nissan.
We put the right chargers in the right places. To find out more, or to join the EVgo network, visit www.evgo.com. Connect with EVgo on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
About Vision Ridge Partners
Vision Ridge Partners is an investment firm focused on the future. Our vision is to unleash capital markets to solve our generation’s greatest challenge: the threat posed to our planet by climate change. Vision Ridge invests in real assets that we believe can generate strong financial returns in fundamentally impactful sectors. Founded in 2008, the firm is based in Boulder, Colorado with an office in New York. For more details, visit www.vision-ridge.com
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