Inevitable Building the EV Charging Network: Lessons from Former EVgo CEO Cathy Zoi
Cathy Zoi is a clean energy veteran with a career spanning leadership roles across government, industry, and investment. Most recently, she served as CEO of EVgo from 2017 to 2023, taking the company public in 2020. EVgo is now one of the largest EV charging networks in the United States.
Today, Cathy is deeply engaged in the energy and climate space. She serves on the board of directors for Con Edison, the major investor-owned utility serving the New York City metro area. She’s also on the board of Apax, a British investment firm, and sits on the investment advisory committee for EQT, a Swedish global investment organization that recently acquired Scale Microgrids. Additionally, she’s a board member at SPAN, an MCJ portfolio company, and at Soil Organic.
Cathy’s career started at the Environmental Protection Agency, followed by roles in the White House during the Clinton-Gore administration and the Department of Energy under Obama. She’s worked at Silver Lake, founded a division of SunEdison focused on emerging markets, and helped lay the groundwork for Odyssey Energy Solutions, another MCJ portfolio company. Throughout our conversation, we explore her fascinating career journey, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and her perspective on the future of clean energy.
In this episode, we cover:
- [3:01] Cathy’s early career at the EPA and the launch of Energy Star
- [9:15] Commercializing GHG reducers in Australia
- [11:59] Working with Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection
- [14:42] Serving as acting undersecretary in the Obama administration
- [18:06] Advisory roles on investment platforms
- [23:22] Experience at SunEdison and founding Odyssey Energy
- [27:29] Financial discipline and capital deployment at EVgo
- [32:06] The future of the EV charging business
- [36:14] Evolution of pricing models
- [39:18] Board work at Con Ed and risk management
- [43:19] What excites her most, including beneficial electrification
Episode recorded on Feb 25, 2025 (Published on March 13, 2025)
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant