IONNA, the charging network founded automakers BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Kia and Stellantis, announced the selection of Durham, North Carolina as its global headquarters. This milestone for IONNA comes after receiving regulatory approval, and the commencement of operations in February.
With a new headquarters, IONNA can now accelerate its 2024 launch plans.
IONNA’s new home will enable the company to ramp up operations and begin to reimagine the electric vehicle charging. A beacon of the organizations’ commitment to bringing everyone together to tackle great projects in unity, and serving as a think tank, lab, mission control, and deployment pad, all-in-one.
The NC headquarters will also house a Customer Experience Lab serving as Quarterback and central node to seven new satellite labs at each of the founding OEM’s facilities. Playing a pivotal role in accelerated deployment, interoperability testing, and continuous improvement of features that work from day one. A framework that will set new standards and benchmarks in the industry. Poised to grow forward at IONNA-Speed as new partners join the movement.
IONNA also announced the appointment of several executives to its leadership team including a CFO, CPO and COO, marking a significant step forward on its commitment to build a North American charging network of more than 30,000 charging stations. The joint venture anticipates opening its first charging stations in the United States in 2024.
Derek Rush joins IONNA as its new Chief Financial Officer. He previously served as the CFO of bp Pulse and will oversee all financial operations and strategies at IONNA.
Ricardo Stamatti joins IONNA as Chief Product Officer from his previous role as Global SVP of Stellantis Energy. He will drive the vision, strategy, and execution of IONNA’s product development and commercial efforts, ensuring that IONNA builds high-fidelity products that meet customers’ most pressing needs and the company’s ambitious business goals.
Shankar Muthukumar takes on the role of Chief Operating Officer from his tenure as General Manager of Mortenson's e-mobility division. Shankar will manage all operational aspects of IONNA’s expanding network, ensuring that its systems not only raise the bar in reliability and efficiency, but are also scalable to meet the company’s future vision of a genre-defining customer experience.
