Electrify America announced today two leadership changes with Giovanni Palazzo becoming Chairman of the Board of Electrify America and Senior Vice President of Charging and Energy, a global position at Volkswagen Group, and Rob Barrosa becoming Electrify America’s President and CEO.
Palazzo will continue to work closely with Electrify America in his role as chair, which is effective February 15, 2023. He will begin his new responsibilities leading global Charging and Energy on July 1. Palazzo and Barrosa will work closely over the coming months to ensure Barrosa’s successful transition into his new role starting June 1.
Palazzo has been president and CEO of Electrify America since 2018. Prior to coming to Electrify America, Palazzo held numerous executive leadership positions with Volkswagen Group starting in 2011. He has concentrated on electric mobility and infrastructure, having served as Head of E-Mobility Business, Group Strategy, Volkswagen Group, prior to joining Electrify America.
Under Palazzo’s leadership, Electrify America has expanded to more than 800 charging stations and 3,500 chargers in under five years. The first station opened in May 2018. The company has announced plans to have more than 1,800 charging stations and 10,000 chargers by 2026 in the U.S. and Canada. The company registered more than 6 million customer charging sessions in 2022, nearly five times the charging sessions the previous year.
In 2022, Electrify America signed an agreement with Siemens Financial Services to become the company’s first external investor. Electrify America has also established extensive cooperation and charging agreements with more than 17 electric vehicle manufacturers. The company also entered the home charging market with the establishment of Electrify Home and now provides turnkey EV charging solutions to businesses, utility companies, fleet owners, travel centers and convenience stores through its business unit Electrify Commercial.
“It’s been a privilege to work with such an incredibly talented team and to oversee the tremendous strides Electrify America has made in electric vehicle infrastructure and the promotion of EV adoption over the past several years. We look forward to Rob Barrosa’s continued leadership as Electrify America continues to evolve and expand on our mission toward a more sustainable future,” said Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO, Electrify America. “His background as an electric vehicle charging engineer, combined with his strategic business approach, will help us continue bringing the latest in EV charging technology to our customers.”
Since joining Electrify America in 2018, Barrosa has held several key leadership positions with responsibility for technology, energy management, product planning and infrastructure development to support the fast-paced deployment of Electrify America charging stations. In addition, he led the team that launched the Electrify Canada charging network in 2018. He has also led business partnerships, marketing and e-commerce for Electrify America, as well as the company’s Electrify Home and Electrify Commercial business units.
“I want to thank Giovanni for his leadership in rapidly expanding the Electrify America network,” said Barrosa. “I look forward to his continued support in his new role as chairman of the company.”
Barrosa has more than 16 years of focused experience in developing and deploying EV infrastructure to support the growth of electric mobility.
About Electrify America
Electrify America LLC, the largest open DC fast charging network in the U.S., is investing more than $2 billion in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, and access. The investment will enable millions of Americans to discover the benefits of electric driving and support the build-out of a nationwide network of ultra-fast community and highway chargers that are convenient and reliable. Electrify America and Electrify Canada expect to have more than 1,800 total charging stations with over 10,000 individual chargers in the United States and Canada combined by 2026. During this period, Electrify America will be expanding to 49 states and the District of Columbia, supporting increased ZEV adoption with a network that is comprehensive, technologically advanced and customer friendly.
