Electric truck start up Volta Trucks, has announced the appointment of Essa Al-Saleh as the new chief executive officer and executive chairman, as the company prepares to move into the next stage of its development.
Al-Saleh was appointed as CEO of the Swedish company on April 12 following his role as the chairman of the company’s board since September 2020, having joined Volta Trucks from Agility Logistics where he spent 13 years as president and CEO.
Essa helped grow Agility from a one-country operation with 300 employees and $150m in revenue to a company operating across 100 countries with 18,000 employees and $4bn in revenue.
The company also announced that founder, Carl-Magnus Norden, has been appointed as its executive chairman of the Volta Board of Directors, a position that is expected to be confirmed at the company’s upcoming AGM, thanks to the support of its largest shareholders.
The company’s previous CEO, Rob Fowler, was forced to step down for personal reasons but remains a shareholder of the company.
“I’m very happy to be appointed as CEO of Volta Trucks, having been its chairman of the board since September,” said Essa Al-Saleh on his appointment.
“We are at a pivotal moment of a major transformation in the automotive industry,” he added.
“ Volta Trucks is at the heart of this transformation, building the first full-electric large commercial vehicles to support the decarbonisation of logistics, improving city centre environments for all,” Saids Al-Salah.
“At Agility Logistics, I had what I thought was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to scale a company into a truly global organisation, but to be able to do it a second time is an exciting privilege, and I look forward to leading the company’s management team as we embark on the next stage of the company’s development and growth,” he said.
“I’d like to thank Rob for his pivotal efforts in leading the company over the past 14 months, and launching the Volta Zero, which has positioned Volta Trucks well for the next critical phase,” he concluded.
Founder and executive chairman, Carl-Magnus Norden said Volta Trucks continues to grow and scale as it moves forwards on its journey.
“I am delighted that we have attracted world-class talent to the company to help support our mission, and deliver on our objectives,” said Norden.
“To have a person of Essa Al-Saleh’s calibre already within the company is testament to this. As Chairman, he’s brought great benefits to me and the Board, and I am very happy that we can now use his experience and ability as CEO as we continue to build on our exciting plans ahead,” Norden said.
