ChargePoint CEO Replaced, CFO Exits Amid EV Charging Network Revenue Shortfall, Layoffs

ChargePoint is changing CEOs, and CFO Rex Jackson has departed the company amid a major quarterly revenue shortfall at the electric vehicle (EV) charging network business.

Update - January 11, 2024: ChargePoint announced additional layoffs. Original blog from November 16, 2023, continues below.

Among the changes and business anecdotes to note:

• CEO Change: Chief Operating Officer Rick Wilmer (pictured, top of page) is now president and CEO. Wilmer succeeds former CEO Pasquale Romano, who will "remain as an advisor to ensure a seamless transition."
• CFO Departure: Chief Financial Officer Rex Jackson has departed the company, effective today. Mansi Khetani, ChargePoint’s senior VP of financial planning and analysis, has been named interim CFO. The company has kicked off an executive search to find a permanent CFO.
• Revenues: The company expects to generate revenue of $108 million to $113 million for Q3 of fiscal 2024 -- far short of the previous expectation of $150 million to $165 million. The figures are particularly bad, considering Wall Street analysts in August 2023 forecast Q3 revenues of roughly $182 million. Actual results will be disclosed December 6.
• Layoffs: ChargePoint announced 10% staff layoffs in September 2023 amid weakening business conditions.

In a prepared statement about ChargePoint's latest business performance, Wilmer said: "Our core markets of North America and Europe both came under pressure late in the third quarter, with revenue falling far short of expectations. Overall macroeconomic conditions, along with fleet and commercial vehicle delivery delays impacted anticipated deployments with government, auto dealership and workplace customers."

Describing the executive changes, Chairman Bruce Chizen said: “On behalf of the ChargePoint Board of Directors, we thank Mr. Romano and Mr. Jackson for their incredible contributions, and wish them the best in their future endeavors. We are fortunate to have Mr. Wilmer as a seasoned executive with a track record of success at ChargePoint to usher the company into its next chapter of growth.”

ChargePoint's new CEO has C-suite experience. He previously was CEO at Pliant Technology, Leyden Energy, Mojo Networks and Chowbotics.

Also of note: ChargePoint has a growing ecosystem of partners. Moreover, the company is deploying new networking, machine learning and proactive monitoring technologies that aim to boost EV charging station reliability to "nearly 100%, once fully implemented," ChargePoint said in August 2023.

Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market: ChargePoint Competition, Tesla Cooperation

Still, the financial update and executive changes surface amid multiple market shifts in the EV charging network industry.

Chief among them: Numerous EV car companies are embracing Tesla's North America Charging Standard (NACS) while also building EV charging alliances without Telsa.

Meanwhile, the overall electric vehicle (EV) market has faced growing headwinds in recent months. Sales of EVs are still growing -- but not as quickly as previously forecast. Moreover, bankruptcies in the electric vehicle market are piling up. Examples include WM Motors of China, as well as Lordstown Motors and Proterra.

Amid that backdrop, numerous EV charging technology companies, consulting firms and integrators need to reach scale to both compete and cooperate with the car companies on EV network projects. Among the recent moves to note:

• November 2023: Volkswagen's hatched a layoff plan within the Cariad software unit.
• August 2023: Charge Enterprises CEO Andrew Fox resigned amid pressure from shareholder activist firm Arena Investors. The resignation surfaced only a few weeks after Charge Enterprises acquired Greenspeed Energy Solutions, a consulting firm and integrator focused on EV charging infrastructure, efficient commercial lighting, solar energy and battery storage.
• August 2023: NaaS Technology, the first U.S. listed EV charging service company in China, acquired Charge Amps AB for US$66.4 million. Charge Amps is an integrated EV charging solutions provider headquartered in Sweden.
• August 2023: ElectraMeccanica and Tevva are planning to merge. If the merger occurs, the combined company expects to generate annual revenue of $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion in 2028
• August 2023: Siemens acquired Heliox, which specializes in EV charging technology for eBus and eTruck fleets.
• May 2023: Siemens acquired the EV division of Mumbai-based Mass-Tech Controls Private for roughly €4.3 million ($4.65 million).

We'll be listening to ChargePoint's December 6 earnings call for more context about the revenue shortfall and recovery plan.