REV CEO Jay Giraud – A Look Under the Hood

Jay Giraud, CEO of REV Technologies, has been busy at work for the last few years taking the electric vehicle industry by storm. Jumping from straight electric vehicle technology to the revolutionary new smart grid technology has kept the momentum going for this high energy innovator. Jay’s secret to success can be summed up in two words, “ratcheting” and communication. Jay knows best that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and it is due to his tenacity that he has achieved so much in a relatively short time as a CEO.
“Ratcheting” is a term Jay describes as going around to everyone that can help grow one’s business and informing, educating and enrolling them over and over until they see a business that they are ready to get behind and help grow. Jay has a vision and it is his ability to communicate this vision to those around him that has allowed him to secure the necessary partners and financing needed to take his technology to the next level. But communication is not always easy. It is highly resource intensive and you can never let up. Being effective and punctual with the right communication that has the right effect on the listener is a challenge. As Jay would say “if they don’t know, you can’t grow”.

Jay is able to find continued inspiration by the people he surrounds himself with. Working with so many great, committed and passionate people who live and breathe and excel at what they do help Jay find the energy he needs to get up every day and have confidence that his vision will come to fruition. He is well aware that he’s only one small component in a big machine, and is inspired by seeing how all the many small pieces fit together to create REV Technologies.

Jay also finds comfort in the fact that he believes strongly in the new smart grid technology REV is currently developing. He appreciates that it has the ability to transform society and that it is coming faster than most realize. He believes that REV Technology has the potential to completely alter our individual relationships with energy and that in 5 years we’ll all be talking about electric cars like they’ve been here all along. For Jay, partnering with GreenAngel Energy was an opportunity to work with similar cleantech companies and be part of a “brain trust” of like-minded leaders that can help each other navigate the ups and downs of a start-up’s growth.

Of course life is not all work for Jay. He finds the most joy in spending time with his son and riding his motorbike. If Jay could recommend two books to a future CEO they would be The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs and Rebel Rules, “two of the best business books I’ve read”, he says.