Ola today announced that Georgina Owens will join the Ola UK board as an Independent non-executive Director.
Owens brings decades of senior technology and IT leadership experience from high-growth and major established businesses across multiple sectors. She will bring her significant expertise and provide corporate governance and strategic guidance as Ola continues to build world class technology and invest significantly into R&D, Ola said in a press note.
Owens is currently Chief Technology Officer at Liberis Capital, a UK fintech company focused on business finance for SMEs, where she focuses on supporting the company’s international growth and developing the product portfolio. She currently serves as a technology advisor to several UK start-ups.
Ola said, "Today’s appointment further strengthens Ola UK’s Board". The company appointed Sir Mike Rake as independent non-executive Chairman and Leon Daniels as independent non-executive director in 2021, joining Balasubrahmanyam Vijay Juturi (non-executive director, Ola UK), Marc Rozendal (Managing Director, Ola UK), and Karl Lutzow (Operations Director, Ola UK).
Sir Mike Rake, Chairman of the Ola UK Board said, “Georgina joins us at a high growth phase and I believe her deep experience working with fast moving companies combined with insights on technology will be instrumental as we scale our businesses and double down our focus on building future technologies for the world.”
“Ola’s vision for the mobility industry and focus on tech innovation is unparalleled. It is not only making ride-hailing safe and accessible but also leading the world's transition to clean mobility. I look forward to collaborating with the team and building the future of mobility,” added Georgina Owens, Non-Executive Director, Ola.
Ola launched its ride hailing services in the UK in 2018 and has expanded rapidly since, successfully launching in London in February 2020. Today Ola operates across 27 local authorities, including Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff and Bristol.
Ola also recently announced Ola Futurefoundry, its global center for advanced engineering and vehicle design. This center will be based in Coventry, the UK, a global hub for the best automotive design and engineering talent in the world. It will house global talent across multiple disciplines of 2W and 4W vehicle design, advanced high-performance automotive engineering, digital & physical modeling, vehicle R&D around new energy systems including cell technologies and more. Ola will invest over US$100M over the next 5 years into the state-of-the-art center and staff it with over 200 designers and automotive engineers.
