Bristol-headquartered electric vehicle (EV) charging company Zap-Map has appointed a permanent chief executive.
Richard Bourne joined the Spike Island-based company in January 2021 as its interim head, working with the board on the firm’s long-term strategic plan.
He will now take a permanent role leading the execution of Zap-Map’s strategy, including the on-going development of its core products as well as international expansion, the company has announced.
In addition, Nigel Pocklington, chief executive of Wiltshire-based Good Energy – Zap-Map’s majority shareholder – has been appointed chair of the business. He takes over the role from Good Energy founder and non-executive director Juliet Davenport, who has stepped down from the board.
Zap-Map’s five-person board now includes: Mr Pocklington, chief executive of Good Energy and chair of Zap-Map; Tim Jones, independent non-executive director from the Good Energy board; Charlie Parry, Good Energy’s director of corporate strategy; and Zap-Map co-founders Ben Lane, chief technology officer, and Melanie Shufflebotham, chief operating officer.
Mr Pocklington said: “As I pick up the baton from Juliet as chair, I would like to thank her for her valuable time and expertise in the role. In the past year Richard has done an excellent job working alongside the Zap-Map senior leadership team to put in place a strategy for growth, as a board we are now looking forward to supporting the team in delivering it.”
Mr Bourne said Zap-Map’s mission of making charging an EV “as simple as possible” had never been more important.
“From continuing to focus on the EV driver experience, delivering on our commercial partnerships for payments and fleets through to international expansion, the coming years will be very exciting for Zap-Map,” he said.
Ms Davenport said she was “very proud” of how Zap-Map had developed over the last two years. She added: “The next stage of the company’s development, with the support of Good Energy, is an exciting one.”
The news comes just weeks after Good Energy agreed to sell its wind and solar generation assets for £21.2m. The Chippenham-based company proceeded with the sale despite a challenge from rival supplier Ecotricity, which has a 25% stake in the company.
Good Energy’s disposal of its renewable portfolio is part of a strategic shift towards energy and mobility services, driven by further investment in Zap-Map.
The Zap-Map app helps EV drivers search for public charge points, plan journeys and pay for charging across multiple networks.
