portfolio
Building Products and Platforms That Scale
I’ve launched platforms from zero, led multi-hundred-million-dollar joint ventures, and turned around underperforming businesses. Below are four projects that show the range of what I do—from 0-to-1 product development to board-level strategic deals.
Product & Platform Launch — EV Digital Experience
App Development at General Motors Europe – 2023
Challenge
General Motors needed to compete against Mercedes and BMW in Europe with a charging solution that didn’t exist. We had eight different markets with unique regulations, no existing partnerships with charging networks, and a short timeline to launch before competitors strengthened their positions.
What I Did
I built the platform from scratch, leading white-label partner selection across Europe and designing a tiered subscription business model for different customer usage profiles. I managed technical integrations with 20+ charging networks and payment processors, built vehicle-to-cloud integration showing real-time charging status, and navigated payment reconciliation and fiscal compliance challenges across eight European markets. Throughout the process, I reported directly to the CEO as part of the extended leadership team.
The Impact
We launched the mobile app across Germany, France, UK, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Italy, and Netherlands, achieving 60% Cadillac customer adoption with a 4.6 App Store rating and 25% DAU/MAU ratio. Most importantly, we created a unified billing experience—customers got one bill instead of managing multiple charging network accounts, which removed a major friction point in EV ownership.
What I Learned
The technology was the easy part. The hard part was aligning incentives across charging networks who wanted exclusivity, payment processors with different fee structures, and internal stakeholders with competing priorities. Building B2B2C products requires understanding every layer of the value chain and where friction lives for each participant.
Strategic Investment & Infrastructure Planning
$650M Joint Venture with BlackRock and NextEra Energy – 2022
The Challenge
Daimler Truck needed large-scale charging infrastructure to support fleet electrification, but building and operating a nationwide charging network wasn’t core business. The solution required external capital, energy infrastructure expertise, and a business model that aligned three different stakeholder interests.
What I Did
I led the commercial and technical design of the joint venture, defining complete platform architecture including user apps, backend systems, APIs, communication protocols, and hardware specifications. I built comprehensive financial models covering pricing, unit economics, customer LTV, and ROI scenarios across different deployment strategies. I worked with site selection teams to identify optimal charging locations based on fleet routes and grid capacity. Throughout the process, I presented the business case to Operating Committee and Board multiple times, ultimately securing investment approval for the $650M joint venture with BlackRock (financial partner) and NextEra Energy (energy/infrastructure partner).
The Impact
The joint venture (branded as “Greenlane”) was publicly announced and funded, positioning Daimler Truck to support fleet electrification at scale without shouldering the full infrastructure burden. The platform enabled fleet operators to electrify with predictable costs while creating a new ecosystem play beyond vehicle sales.
What I Learned
Building a joint venture means balancing competing interests—financial returns (BlackRock), strategic positioning (Daimler), and operational feasibility (NextEra). Every technical architecture decision had business model implications, and every business model choice created operational constraints. The ability to translate fluently between these perspectives and present coherently to boards was what got the deal across the finish line.
Go-to-Market & Ecosystem Strategy
Hardware/Software Solution at Daimler Truck North America – 2021
The Challenge
While the joint venture infrastructure was being built, Daimler Truck customers needed charging solutions immediately. We had to build an aftermarket business selling charging equipment to fleet operators, but this meant bringing a non-automotive product into automotive dealerships and sales systems.
What I Did
I built the business from scratch. I researched and qualified white-label manufacturers, including traveling to factories in Spain to evaluate production quality and technical capabilities in person. I defined hardware specifications that would future-proof for the US truck market and worked closely with our development team in Portugal to deeply integrate our proprietary software with the charging hardware to optimize fleet operations. I designed pricing that created attractive resale packages for both dealerships and end customers. Then I created the complete go-to-market strategy: sales enablement materials for 1,000+ dealerships across the US and Canada, integration with truck sales processes, and coordination across sales systems to make a non-automotive product sellable through automotive channels.
The Impact
The white-label business launched and generated $13M in first-year revenue, on track toward a $40M four-year target. We established a new revenue stream beyond vehicle sales while giving customers immediate access to charging solutions. The proprietary software integration differentiated our offering from generic charging equipment and created recurring value for fleet operators through optimized charging operations.
What I Learned
The hardest part wasn’t finding a manufacturer or defining specs—it was change management. Dealerships were used to selling trucks, not infrastructure. Sales teams needed new compensation structures. Service organizations needed new training. The technical product was table stakes; the real work was organizational design and channel enablement. Building a new business line inside an established company requires as much internal selling as external selling.
Autonomous Ride-Hailing Platform
Autonomous Mobility Services at Mercedes-Benz North America – 2019
The Challenge
Mercedes-Benz and Bosch were developing autonomous vehicle technology for a San Jose pilot, but autonomous vehicles are only valuable if you can operate them as a service. We needed to build the complete service layer—mobile apps, dispatch systems, routing logic, and operations infrastructure—while the autonomous technology was still being refined.
What I Did
I was the product owner for the platform managing a fleet of 5 fully autonomous S-Class vehicles and 20 conventional vehicles. I defined requirements for both rider apps (booking, payment, tracking) and driver apps (dispatch, navigation, status), working with engineering teams across San Jose, Berlin, and Stuttgart. The most interesting technical challenge was building the intelligent routing system that dynamically assigned rides between autonomous vehicles (which had geofenced operating domains) and human-driven vehicles based on real-time availability and destination. I designed the premium service experience—S-Class and GLE SUVs with attention to temperature control, music selection, and Mercedes branding—to match customer expectations. I maintained 99%+ platform uptime through local server infrastructure and rapid incident response protocols. Beyond the technology, I hired and managed 20 drivers and coordinated with San Jose city government on pilot progress and regulatory requirements.
The Impact
We successfully operated the pilot with real users (initially Daimler employees, with plans for public launch before the pandemic shut down the program). The platform achieved our 99%+ uptime target while solving complex routing logic for mixed fleets. The operational playbooks we built informed future autonomous initiatives across the company.
What I Learned
The cutting-edge technology gets all the attention, but the service layer is equally complex. Routing logic for mixed fleets, maintaining high reliability, coordinating with city governments, managing driver experience—these operational challenges are where most autonomous pilots fail. Building autonomous services isn’t just a software problem; it’s an operations problem requiring as much focus on people and processes as on technology.
Market Research & Smart Infrastructure Strategy
Business Development at Mercedes-Benz Singapore – 2019
The Challenge
Mercedes-Benz was exploring opportunities beyond vehicle sales—smart city technologies, mobility services, and infrastructure partnerships across rapidly developing markets. But Asia-Pacific is incredibly diverse: Singapore has world-class infrastructure and supportive regulations, while other markets face completely different constraints. We needed a systematic way to evaluate where and how to enter these markets with mobility and smart infrastructure products.
What I Did
Based in Singapore, I designed a comprehensive KPI-based maturity model to evaluate smart city and mobility readiness across 15+ markets in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. The framework assessed multiple dimensions: regulatory environment (data privacy, autonomous vehicle regulations, smart infrastructure policies), physical infrastructure (road quality, connectivity, charging capabilities), market dynamics (urbanization rates, customer willingness to pay, competitive landscape), and partnership ecosystems (local mobility providers, technology partners, government initiatives). I conducted on-the-ground research, interviewed stakeholders across markets, and analyzed how different regulatory and infrastructure conditions would affect product viability. Based on this analysis, I identified market entry strategies tailored to each region—some markets were ready for premium mobility services, others needed infrastructure partnerships first, and some required completely different business models.
The Impact
I delivered market entry recommendations that informed Mercedes-Benz’s regional investment priorities and partnership strategies across Asia-Pacific and Africa. The maturity framework became a repeatable tool the company used to evaluate new market opportunities beyond just the regions I studied. Several markets I identified as high-potential became focus areas for subsequent business development efforts.
What I Learned
What works in Singapore won’t work in Jakarta, and what works in Jakarta won’t work in Nairobi. Technology readiness is only one variable—you might have perfect infrastructure but restrictive regulations, or supportive regulations but poor infrastructure. The winners in international expansion aren’t those with the best technology; they’re those who understand how to adapt business models to local conditions while maintaining a coherent global strategy. Market analysis isn’t about finding the “best” market; it’s about understanding which market requires which approach.
These examples illustrate my ability to connect technology strategy, product execution, and business outcomes — whether launching platforms, shaping ecosystems, or enabling data-driven investment decisions.