Amping up the electric car industry

Case study overview

After starting his career with Lotus and having spent almost 15 years at McLaren Automotive engineering some of the world’s best high-performance Propulsion systems, Richard joined a US based electric car company.

Despite a wealth of experience and success in the automotive industry, he credits the ELS programme with inspiring him to aim high and be the best at what he does.

I’m a product of this scheme. I’ve had a great career and am privileged to be doing some world class stuff. The ELS programme was one of the enablers for that.

Sparking a deep interest

Richard was sponsored through his Master’s degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering at Queen’s University of Belfast by Takata Corporation which designs, develops and manufactures automotive safety systems. During this sponsorship period, Richard spent time in Japan with the Central Japan Railway Company working on the Shinkansen bullet trains. He describes applying for the ELS programme as being a ‘no brainer’ and planned to use the funding to help him standout. He travelled to Detroit to attend the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress and decided to learn German through an intensive language course in Germany, which he knew would be beneficial for a career in the automotive industry.

“It was really special as people were coming from all nations to immerse themselves in the German language... it really increased my language adoption,” he says. The remaining funds were used to buy technical publications and books, which he still has on his shelves.

There are many people who get degrees and have good experiences, but to be the best, you need to stand out. You can do that by doing something exceptional, special things and the ELS programme is one of them.

Watt a career

Richard joined Lotus Cars’ graduate engineering programme where he discovered what he loved doing, and what he didn’t. His interest was in propulsion systems, which eventually led to a 15-year career at McLaren Automotive building and leading the powertrain team.

In 2018 Richard joined electric car company Rivian as vice president of propulsion. For six years he led a team of more than 500 engineers working on the design and development of high voltage batteries, power electronics, electric motors, electric drive trains and thermal systems for all Rivian vehicles and charging and energy products. He then took on a new role in 2024 as senior vice president, future R&D, with a strategic focus on establishing Rivian’s business in global emerging markets.

I read hundreds of resumes and have been involved in graduate schemes & interviews, but for those who want to be the stars of tomorrow, they need to have something special. They need to have something extracurricular to set them apart and that for me is the biggest reason to do this.

An electric career

Richard is now managing director for Africa and India at ALSO, Rivian’s new global micromobility business. “At ALSO we are developing a portfolio of exciting, small electric vehicles building on Rivian’s technology and expertise,” he says.

Richard is responsible for building and leading an end-to-end business that is developing technology, products and services to enable the adoption, at scale, of renewable energy in transportation and electricity distribution in global emerging markets. “We are working to meet growing energy demands across the world while also offering customers lower costs of product ownership with all the benefits that come from this” he says.

“I’m still deeply involved in technology and engineering and am energised by the challenge of continuing to be the best and aiming high. That really stems from the ELS programme all those years ago."