5 Questions with: Rich Robinson

Rich Robinson joined the EVC team this month as the new Chief Operations Officer, so we sat down with him to discuss his thoughts on the growing EV industry, where he sees it going in 5 years and his proudest accomplishment so far.

What is  your professional background?

“My background is delivering growth in technical businesses. I studied Mechanical Engineering at university and like most of the graduates I went into a finance role and qualified as an Accountant, giving me the skills to understand and challenge how to make businesses financially successful.

I then moved to a global Engineering Oil and Gas firm, initially in the accounts department before switching to the delivery team, managing the engineers responsible for delivering £100m+ projects in places such as Iraq.

Later, I moved into Telecoms where I led Grain Connect’s rollout of 30,000+ homes with Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) from zero base in 5 ½ years. I was responsible for scaling the business as well as a team that could deliver on Grain’s customers strict delivery demands in the new build housing sector.

I was Grain’s first employee and took it from being a business of one, with no brand, processes, systems, or clients to being a business of 100+ people, raising £100 million to deploy fibre infrastructure across the entire UK. I grew Grain from scratch and delivered full fibre to homes all over the UK.

What excited you about joining EVC?

“There are three reasons I think EVC was the right fit for me.

The Team – When I first met the team it was clear they value their culture and yes the pool table and table tennis table is fun, however the bit that really hit me was the teamwork and attitude towards achieving change for the better.

The Industry – Having come from the fibre world it was a natural step to move into another industry that is focused on building long term infrastructure that improves the world we live in. I’ll admit I’m competitive, so the competition in the market excites me.

The Knowledge – This is a team that has combined the expertise of car park management with a deep knowledge of energy transformation, which it vital to understanding the deployment of an EV charging network.”

Where do you see the EV industry in the next 5 years?

“Over the last 5 years the UK’s fibre industry has gone from less than 1% coverage fibre broadband to now having over 70% of homes in the country with access to gigabit broadband.

If you are an EV driver, you are aware of the complications around access to charging points, and the UK’s charging infrastructure is trying to keep up with the sheer number of motorists making the switch to electric. So whilst there is public investment in the industry, this fact alone will bring further private investment and EV charging will be the next infrastructure boom.”

What is your proudest accomplishment?

“My proudest achievement has to be completing an Ironman 18 months after being told I might never run again having shattered my pelvis.”

Who would be your 4 ideal dinner guests?

1)  A Successful Entrepreneur –  Yvon Chouinard – He set up Patagonia and wrote a book called “Let My People Go Surfing”

2)  A Sportsman - Freddie Flintoff – Sporting legend and nerd combined with car comedian,

3)  Jo Robinson – My wife because she’s awesome, and;

4)  A Comedian - Ricky Gervais – For the fun of it.