Executive Search Success Story: Building a Commercial and Network Operations Leadership Team for a National EV Charging Network Operator

How JRG Partners executed a confidential, multi-role North American executive search strategy that equipped a growth-stage electric vehicle charging network operator with the commercial, network operations, finance, policy, and technology leadership required to improve charger uptime, win fleet and retail site partnerships, secure public funding, and reach profitability on its core network.

The Challenge

An EV charging network operator had deployed 4,200 fast-charging ports but was struggling with the problems that had come to define the sector: charger uptime below 90% was damaging its brand and disqualifying it from public funding programs with uptime requirements, retail site hosts were questioning renewals, the company had no structured fleet sales capability, and its software platform generated frequent payment and session failures. The infrastructure investor required a path to profitability on the existing network before funding further expansion. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the business:

• Charger uptime below 90% against public funding requirements of 97%
• No network operations discipline for preventive maintenance, parts, and field response
• An opportunistic commercial model with no fleet or site host partnership strategy
• Limited capability to pursue federal and state funding programs and utility make-ready incentives
• A charging software platform with high payment and session failure rates
• Finance unable to model site-level profitability and utilization for the investor

Recognizing that profitability required leadership built for network operations and structured commercial growth, the CEO and board engaged JRG Partners to recruit a Chief Commercial Officer, VP of Network Operations, Chief Financial Officer, VP of Policy & Public Funding, and Chief Technology Officer. The company required an executive search partner with deep clean technology and infrastructure expertise and access to leaders from adjacent network businesses.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Renewable Energy & Clean Technology Focus

JRG Partners maintains a dedicated practice serving renewable energy and clean technology companies, including EV charging operators, charging hardware and software providers, and electrification services firms, with a clear understanding of uptime economics, public funding programs, and utility interconnection.

Adjacent-Industry Talent Access

Our firm has extensive experience recruiting proven network operations and commercial leaders from telecommunications, fuel retail, and utility sectors into clean technology companies, bringing mature operating disciplines to a young industry.

Multi-Role Execution

Our team specializes in running coordinated commercial, operations, finance, policy, and technology searches in parallel, ensuring leaders are selected as a complementary unit aligned to a single profitability plan.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Profitability Plan Alignment

Our consultants partnered directly with the CEO, board, and infrastructure investor to review uptime data, site economics, public funding eligibility, software performance, and the commercial pipeline, defining five executive profiles aligned with the path to profitability.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting commercial, network operations, finance, policy, and technology executives at EV charging, telecommunications network, fuel retail, utility, and infrastructure technology companies who had led documented uptime, partnership, and funding outcomes. Over 370 executives were systematically assessed across these sectors.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of operating distributed networks above 97% availability, building fleet and site host partnership programs, securing public infrastructure funding, delivering reliable payment and session software, and modeling site-level profitability for investors. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented profitability plans to the CEO, board, and investor, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified uptime, commercial, and funding outcomes.

Key Outcomes

• 370+ EV charging, network operations, and infrastructure executive profiles mapped across North America.
• Successfully placed a synchronized leadership tier spanning commercial, network operations, finance, policy, and technology within seven months.
• Raised network uptime from below 90% to 98.2%.
• Secured $140M in public funding and utility incentive awards.
• Reduced charging session failures by 80%.
• Reached positive EBITDA on the core network within eighteen months.