RESTON, Va. – Electrify America has announced two new leadership changes with Giovanni Palazzo taking on the role of Chairman of the Board and Senior Vice President of Charging and Energy at Volkswagen Group, and Rob Barrosa becoming the President and CEO of Electrify America. The changes will be effective from February 15th, 2023 for Palazzo and June 1st, 2023 for Barrosa.
Giovanni Palazzo, who has been the CEO of Electrify America since 2018, will work closely with the company as its chairman. Prior to joining Electrify America, Palazzo held multiple executive leadership positions with Volkswagen Group, focusing on electric mobility and infrastructure. Under Palazzo’s leadership, Electrify America has expanded to 800 charging stations and 3,500 chargers in less than five years and has plans to increase this number to 1,800 charging stations and 10,000 chargers by 2026 in the US and Canada.
In 2022, the company signed an agreement with Siemens Financial Services, making it the company’s first external investor. The company has also established extensive cooperation and charging agreements with over 17 electric vehicle manufacturers and entered the home charging market through Electrify Home.
Rob Barrosa, who has been with Electrify America since 2018, has held multiple key leadership positions, including technology, energy management, product planning, and infrastructure development. He has also been responsible for launching the Electrify Canada charging network and leading business partnerships, marketing, and e-commerce. Barrosa has over 16 years of experience in developing and deploying EV infrastructure.
“It has been a privilege to work with such a talented team and to see the tremendous strides Electrify America has made in electric vehicle infrastructure and the promotion of EV adoption,” said Giovanni Palazzo. “I am confident that Rob Barrosa’s leadership, combined with his background as an electric vehicle charging engineer, will help us continue bringing the latest in EV charging technology to our customers.”
“I want to thank Giovanni for his leadership in rapidly expanding the Electrify America network,” said Rob Barrosa. “I look forward to his continued support in his new role as chairman of the company.”
