↓
Question

Taking the time to understand
a specific opportunity landscape,
distill its morphology to the most precious details;

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Evaluate

Looking into what can
create value and build a coherent
story around it;

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Execute

Building a bridge between
a great, differentiating  ambition
and its thoughtful execution.

Jean-François – Founder and Managing Director
Montréal, Canada

Jean-François has worked his entire career at the intersection of management consulting and transaction advisory services in the automotive industry. He spent 17 years at EY with international roles and in 2009, he pioneered EY’s global response to the industrial shift of the automotive industry towards sustainable mobility. This exposed him to the first wave of startup initiatives that tried to kick-off electrification in the early 2010s.

Jean-François’s role at Mouve is to manage the firm’s global network of investment and industrial partners and support companies in their growth strategy agenda as well as their capital market fundraising activities.

Jean-François has an MBA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, US, and a MA from the Hochschule für Philosohie in Munich, Germany.

Jim Thomas – Senior Venture Partner
Florida, USA

Jim has over 40 years of business experience primarily with early and growth stage technology companies. He has been a pioneer in newly forming or transitioning industries with uncertain demand and unproven business models. With an attentiveness to evolving market dynamics, he successfully developed and executed marketing, operational and financial strategies to lead companies through the uncharted waters of new industries.

He has a history of creating significant enterprise value growth and has led two initial public offerings, multiple venture financings and private placements as well as strategic partnerships and government incentives.

Most recently, in his ten years at Rivian Automotive, he served as their first Executive Vice President/CFO and Vice President of Corporate Development as the company grew from 15 employees to over 2,000.  As COO/CFO of MapQuest.com, he led the transition from traditional service to market-leading Internet mapping company by leveraging its technology. He later managed its IPO and subsequent sale.

Jim’s role at Mouve is to guide Management in identifying and addressing operational and financial strategies for evolving market dynamics. He helps companies become more strategic about their financing agenda, whether for a major project or a capital raise for the company.

Jim has been on the Board of Directors of public and private companies and non-profits.  Jim also served the Florida Institute of Technology (FL Tech) as a Trustee and Vice-Chairman of the Board.  He has an MBA from the Darden School of the University of Virginia and a BS in Mathematics from FL Tech.

WOLFGANG BUTENSCHÖN – DIRECTOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
SAARLAND, GERMANY

Wolfgang has over 30 years of executive position experiences in General Management, Business Development and Account Management. He worked for large international companies such as Lufthansa German Airlines, AMADEUS Global Travel Distribution, TUI, Daimler, T-Systems and American Express. Wolfgang successfully built and managed multinational and cultural teams in Germany, the U.S., France and Spain. He was part of the Daimler Toll Collect Project, one of the biggest mobility initiatives in Europe to date. As part of this project, he managed relations with numerous European freight forwarders and carrier associations. Following the launch of Toll Collect, he pioneered its expansion across several mobility projects worldwide out of his offices in Berlin and Tokyo. Before joining Mouve, Wolfgang was responsible for the digitalization of the global CRM system of AGCO, one of the largest manufacturers of tractors and harvesting machines.

Wolfgang’s main role is to build and nourish Mouve’s global partnership network.

Wolfgang holds a B.A. in Business Administration, Sales & Marketing Management from the University of Applied Sciences in Munich.

Emil Chao – Senior Advisor on Technology and Innovation Enablement
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, USA

Emil Chao has 25 years of experience in technology and business development strategy roles, bringing emerging technologies to market for companies including Amkor Technology, Infineon Technologies, Gentherm, and Rivian Automotive. His expertise is inspired from a wide range of industries, including telecom/datacom, medical devices, biotechnology, all of which now serve the advancement of connected electric vehicles, whose challenges the industry needs to solve.

As Senior Advisor on Technology and Innovation, Emil is responsible for leading the assessment on innovations presented to the Mouve team. Emil leads our internal exercise to identify and gauge the potential of emerging technologies related to sustainable mobility, and on the client support side, he provides strategic direction and structured thinking to entrepreneurs who need to frame the development of their innovation strategies from both an engineering as well as financial/budgeting standpoint.

Emil Chao has a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California, Irvine.

TOBIAS MERTEN – HYDROGEN ECONOMY SPECIALIST
HAMBURG, GERMANY

Tobias has over 25 years of business experience. He has held various senior level positions focusing primarily on mobility and energy issues. He is well connected within the European transport and energy communities. In the past, Tobias worked for
large international logistics companies such as Kuehne + Nagel, Schnellecke Group and Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV). At BMT Group, he advised port and maritime industries and European authorities on infrastructure developments and respective industry policies. Tobias co-founded EY’s global hydrogen task force and significantly contributed to their Mobility Innovation Practice where he helped kick-start ground breaking hydrogen projects. He was part of the Rail Baltica project, the biggest rail infrastructure development in Europe to date. 

Tobias’ role at Mouve is to guide Management on strategic decisions regarding the commercialization and implementation of hydrogen technologies alongside the emerging value chains and the related ecosystems.

 Tobias is an active member of the Federal Association of medium-sized businesses in Germany (BVMW). He holds a Bachelors’ degree in Logistics & Marketing from the German Foreign Trade and Transport Academy (DAV) in Bremen and is a certified Forwarding Agent.