Charlie Cook, Rightcharge founder and CEO, on his job ambitions and favourite takeaway.

Charlie Cook, Rightcharge CEO

What is your ambition in your current job role?

To accelerate EV adoption. Success for Rightcharge would be helping fleets buy more electric vehicles and meet their EV targets faster.

What job did you want to do when you were growing up?

Believe it or not, I wanted to run my own company. My grandfather did that when he was in his 30s, which really helped the family and gave him lots of opportunities. My parents also ran their own travel company, so I took inspiration from those other family businesses.

The best takeaway food is…?

Pizza – specifically a capricciosa.

What’s the proudest moment in your career?

Taking the leap of faith to start Rightcharge, with support from Octopus Energy, where I continued working two days a week, while I was setting up the business.

What’s your favourite film and why?

A French film called Les Intouchables, which is a touching story about a wealthy paralysed man striking up an unlikely friendship with an ex-convict from the projects in Paris.

If money was no object, what’s the first thing you would buy?

A house in the countryside that is so far away from any neighbours that I could build my own motocross or dirt bike track and bring back my childhood passion of riding dirt bikes. Electric ones, of course!

Name three cars in your dream garage

Aston Martin Vanquish, Porsche Taycan and an electric SUV. Along with the electric dirt bikes, of course…

What are the biggest challenges facing fleets at the moment?

Electrification of vans – which is difficult, but exciting for us; working out how to get from 50% to 100% fleet electrification and navigating a very quickly evolving marketplace.

You’re on your dream holiday. Where in the world are you?

Backpacking around Australia with my family.

Night in or night out?

I’m an extrovert, so it would have to be a night out. Catching up with old friends over dinner and drinks at a nice pub.

What’s your supermarket of choice?

Morrisons, home delivery.

What car do you currently drive?

Kia e-Niro.

Tea, coffee or other (state alternative)?

Tea AND coffee – lots of both.

Books, magazines or podcasts?

Podcasts – in particular Acquired, which tells the inside stories of companies.

Who is your idol in life and work?

It would have to be my Grandad, Kilby, who us kids knew as Dod. He was a big inspiration to me in lots of different ways, both in my life and my work.