Ignasi joined the Volta Trucks’ team in December 2021 as a Sales Executive where he joined the team remotely from his home in Barcelona. Ignasi is responsible for engaging with our customer audiences across the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal and a small area of France). In this blog post, Ignasi reflects on his time at Volta Trucks so far.
What is your role at Volta Trucks?
I am a Business Development Manager for Iberia, where I am responsible for leading the strategy for the development and opening of the Iberian Market. My main focus is on Madrid right now as we will soon be launching a Truck as a Service (Taas) Hub there, our first one in Spain.
Day-to-day, I focus on building relationships with stakeholders interested in the electrification of commercial vehicles, and I accompany them through the process of transitioning their fleet.
Why did you choose to join Volta Trucks?
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA ), the transport sector is responsible for 22.3% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions, with road transport representing 21.1% of total emissions. Breaking this down further, passenger cars account for 12.8% of Europe’s emissions, vans for 2.5%, while heavy‐duty trucks and buses are responsible for 5.6%.
While in the passenger vehicle sector you could see major manufacturing players bringing out electric, more sustainable models, I believe that this was not the same scenario in the case of HGVs, until Volta Trucks came along.
This, combined with the company’s value proposition its mission and the work ethic of the management team made it an easy decision to choose to join Volta Trucks.
What’s different about working in a scale up company?
Right now, by working at Volta Trucks in it’s scale-up phase, we have all been gifted an opportunity to make a difference in both the company and the world. That difference is both measurable and visible. I know my work will matter, and this is a very important aspect of the job for me.
How do you stay connected to your teammates in a global and virtual environment?
As a team, we are fortunate to have very experienced and committed individuals on board, who are keen to share their industry knowledge and advice informally through our internal communication channels. Further to this, we have regular meetings at a commercial and marketing level, with clear and concise agendas so we all know what we need to achieve and why we’re there. When it comes to problem-solving and addressing specific doubts and concerns, everyone always prioritises their time to work through as a team so we can quickly unblock and move forwards, together.
What job would you like to have if you didn’t have this one?
The last five years of my professional career have been linked to sustainability and electric mobility, initially working for an electric vehicle manufacturer and then for a charging infrastructure company.
I cannot imagine working in a sector that does not contemplate sustainable mobility or have any connection with sustainability or renewable energies. There is a great challenge ahead to combat climate change, and to be able to contribute to this and help to remedy the problem brings great satisfaction.
What’s one lesson your job has taught you that you think everyone should learn at some point in their life?
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
For me, this quote from Viktor Frankl has a double meaning. On one hand, it is important to keep in mind that we cannot always control a situation, but on the other hand we must keep in mind that we can always control how we respond to it.
What makes you feel good about the work you do?
Knowing that although decarbonising last-mile logistics is a big challenge, we are able to help speed up the efforts of the whole industry toward operations that are better for people and the planet.
What does Volta Trucks mean to you?
The possibility of playing an active role in revolutionizing the freight industry as we know it today, reducing the effects of a warming climate and making our cities safer and healthier.
About the header image: In 2017, I lived in Indonesia the whole summer as I enrolled in a philanthropic project aimed to raise awareness and create an entrepreneurial mindset among society in Yogyakarta (Java, Indonesia). Here you can see me sowing the paddy fields.
If you would like to find out more about Volta Trucks and our mission to make cities safer and more sustainable, you can see where we are on our journey by clicking here. If you are interested in joining the team, please take a look at current openings we have available here.