Electric vehicle startup Trova Commercial Vehicles (TrovaCV) has added truck industry veteran Russ Tedder to its Advisory Board.
TrovaCV provides commercial vehicle manufacturers with customized engineering, design and manufacturing expertise for fully electric commercial vehicles while at the same time developing its unique Diesel-to-Electric (D2E) driveline-conversion program for electrifying Class 7-8 diesel-powered trucks.
Tedder brings 45 years of truck industry experience to his advisory board position, including stints as senior vice president in charge of remarketing for Volvo Trucks and chairman of the board of Arrow Truck Sales.
“Russ is uniquely positioned to not only spread the word about TrovaCV’s service offerings to his incredible network of decision makers, but also to provide keen insights into how our D2E conversion program can fit into a fleet’s overall asset management strategy,” says Patrick Collignon, TrovaCV founder and CEO. “By the end of the decade, the entire industry will be transformed, including dealer distribution and aftermarket business models. I look forward to tapping into Russ’s industry knowledge on how to best formulate and optimize the market entry approach.”
Tedder says he is excited to join TrovaCV at the beginning of a new era for trucking. With his intimate knowledge of the industry, he understands the upheaval that will be caused as electrification and other new technology is phased in – but he also understands the opportunities.
“I’ve walked in the fleet owner’s shoes, and I know what his or her challenges are,” Tedder says. “Fleets don’t want to ordernew electric trucks and then have to wait up to three years to receive their vehicles while continuing to maintain their diesel engine infrastructure. What TrovaCV is offering allows fleets to convert older diesel trucks that may have received only a small return as a trade-in into smarter, cleaner, and safer electric trucks. This gives the truck another 10 years of life while also maintaining a fleet of familiar vehicles.”
Tedder started his career in the United States Air Force, including a tour of duty in the Vietnam War. After earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Florida International University, he joined one of the country’s largest trucking fleetsin 1977. He spent nine years in fleet maintenance, sales, and terminal operations before making the jump to Volvo Trucks. Tedder spent the next 30 years at Volvo building a career focused on fleet sales and marketing. He became vice president fleet sales for Volvo Truck North America in 1999. In 2010, he was named senior vice president of truck remarketing for all Volvo and Mack Truck brands. At the same time, he was also chairman of the board of Volvo subsidiary Arrow Truck Sales,the largest used truck dealer in North America. After leaving Volvo in 2015, Russ now acts as a consultant to the trucking industry.
Tedder is married with two daughters and three grandchildren. He is an avid surfer and a certified lifeguard, and he also enjoys stand-up paddle boarding and bicycling.
