Ian McAvoy is the Co-Founder, Chair, and CEO of Volterra Technologies. A three-time cleantech founder, he brings more than three decades of experience across transportation and technology — including two decades as an executive operator inside municipal and transit organizations in both the United Kingdom and California.
Volterra is his third venture. His first, GreenPower Motor Company — which he co-founded and served as President and Board Director before it was taken public — established his track record in electric mobility. His second, Thomson Power, developed a novel driver-focused energy-efficiency platform. Before co-founding GreenPower, he spent much of his career inside public transit: at the San Mateo County Transit District, Caltrain, and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority he held a wide infrastructure remit — strategy, planning, engineering, construction, maintenance, real estate, and project finance — as Chief Development Officer. Earlier UK municipal roles, including the London Borough of Barnet, gave him a transatlantic view of how fleets are actually run.
Educated in Edinburgh, Scotland, Ian today divides his time between California and British Columbia. EVCare™ integrates data mining, predictive analytics, and AI-driven telemetry — linking real-world EV performance data to cloud-based management systems and giving fleet operators real-time, actionable insight to extend battery life and lower operating costs. It is the platform he was uniquely positioned to build: designed from inside the problem, not around it.
At Volterra's current stage, Ian carries direct, personal accountability across five areas critical to getting EVCare™ to commercial scale. In product engineering, he sets and owns the platform roadmap and delivery priorities alongside the technical team, and is accountable for EVCare™ shipping on schedule and meeting the specifications transit agencies require. In investor and non-dilutive relations, he leads all fundraising activity — the pre-seed bridge and seed round, angel and VC outreach, and updates to existing investors — and is personally responsible for identifying, applying for, and securing grants and other non-dilutive capital. In pilot operations, he owns the commercial relationship and day-to-day delivery accountability for Volterra's identified and active pilot demonstrations of EVCare™ with battery-electric vehicle fleets, ensuring milestones are hit and the customer relationship is protected. In commercialization, he is accountable for converting pilot programs into paid, contracted deployments and for building the sales pipeline beyond the initial anchor customers. In IP management, he directs the strategy, valuation, and governance of Volterra's EVCare™ IP portfolio, working with the company's IP advisors and reviewers to protect and grow its defensibility. Beyond these five areas, Ian holds the standard accountabilities of a CEO at this stage of a venture: board and governance reporting, overall financial stewardship and runway management, hiring and leading the executive team, and setting the strategic direction the company is held to by its investors and board.
