Our Team
EV Technology Group has an experienced leadership team with decades of combined operational and investing experience
![wouter headshot black and white[13]](https://evtgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/wouter-headshot-black-and-white13-pxd8bq32z6mqrfweggr7t9psneqefeshjyi3a45gxc.png "wouter headshot black and white[13]")
Wouter Witvoet
CEO
Wouter Witvoet is a serial entrepreneur and current Founder & CEO of EV Technology Group, his third company, which he took public in 2022. EV Technology Group has a vision of electrifying iconic automotive brands starting with the Electric MOKE. In 2017, Wouter founded Secfi Inc in San Francisco, which he grew to the market leader in option exercise financing having raised over $1.1bn for the company. Secfi has ±100 employees. After Secfi, Wouter founded Valour, a market leader in crypto exchange traded products in Europe, which he took public in 2021. Next to his professional ventures, Wouter is an active angel investor through his family office Escalet Group. Wouter has a Bachelor’s degree in Information Science and Economics from Utrecht University and a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge.
Richard Westley
CEO Fablink Group & incoming CCO
Richard Westley is the CEO of Fablink Group and incoming Chief Operating Officer. Richard is an executive with over 20 years experience in the automotive and off-highway sectors. Following a successful international career in business consulting, he founded Fablink Group Holdings, the UK based Engineering and manufacturing business that supplies metal pressings, assemblies and structures to many Global OEMs. He has an impressive track record of Mergers and Acquisitions, particularly with regard to the successful restructuring of distressed and under-performing businesses. He enjoys deep, senior relationships with major OEMs including JLR, CAT, CNH, DAF, JCB, Morgan, Lotus, Terex and Volvo.
David Maher
VP Strategy and Investments
David began his career at McKinsey & Company, serving as an Engagement Manager in McKinsey’s Private Equity and Digital Transformation practices. David has since specialised in leadership roles in M&A, strategy and marketing in growth stage companies. He worked as Head of Marketing Operations at Lazada Group (Alibaba), the leading e-commerce player in South-East Asia, where he helped lead marketing efforts across 6 South-East Asian countries, as the company grew past a US$3B valuation. Subsequently, Mr Maher was Vice President of DeFi Technologies (NEO:DEFI), responsible for corporate development, leading M&A activity as the company grew to a market cap of over C$800M. David completed his Masters of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and read degrees in Law and Politics at the University of New South Wales.
Andrew Watcham
Head of Corporate Development
With almost a decade of experience, Andrew is well versed in the commercial, M&A and technical aspects of Corporate Finance. Having started his career in M&A Advisory, he then moved to Private Equity and more recently into Business Development where he provides expertise across the regulatory, valuation and capital raise aspects of the business. Andrew has contributed to a range of corporate transactions, summing up to in excess US$2.5 billion over the course of his career. Andrew completed his Masters of Business Administration at INSEAD and is a qualified CFA.
Willy Gruyelle
VP Operations
Willy serves as EV Technology Group’s Vice President of Operations. Willy is an experienced business leader in the advisory and luxury goods sectors. Willy was a manager at Mawenzi Partners, an exclusive boutique consultancy in France, advising clients across sectors on their strategic challenges. Prior to this, Willy was the Area Sales Manager for Cartier in Israel and Africa as well as a UK Retail Manager for The Estée Lauder Companies. Willy earned his Masters in Science and Business Management from ESSEC Business School.
Governance
Wouter Witvoet
CEO and Chairman
Wouter Witvoet is a serial entrepreneur and current Founder & CEO of EV Technology Group, his third company, which he took public in 2022. EV Technology Group has a vision of electrifying iconic automotive brands starting with the Electric MOKE. In 2017, Wouter founded Secfi Inc in San Francisco, which he grew to the market leader in option exercise financing having raised over $1.1bn for the company. Secfi has ±100 employees. After Secfi, Wouter founded Valour, a market leader in crypto exchange traded products in Europe, which he took public in 2021. Next to his professional ventures, Wouter is an active angel investor through his family office Escalet Group. Wouter has a Bachelor’s degree in Information Science and Economics from Utrecht University and a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge.
Olivier Roussy Newton
President
Olivier is a co-founder and President of EVT. Before starting EVT, Olivier Roussy Newton co-founded DeFi Technologies Inc, which bridges the gap between centralized and decentralized finance. Defi Technologies is listed in Canada under ticker NEO:DEFI. Olivier founded and led HIVE Blockchain Technologies, the first crypto mining company to list publicly in 2017. He is the managing director of BTQ, AG and Founder of Latent Holdings.
Jon Foster
Independent Board Member
Jon Foster is CFO of Nauto, a Silicon Valley advanced mobility company that is the leader in using predictive AI to reduce auto collisions. He previously served as CFO of Zoox, a developer of autonomous electric vehicles, prior to its acquisition by Amazon in 2020. Prior to Zoox he served as CFO of a number of leading edge technology companies. Foster currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Udelv (autonomous electric delivery vehicles) and Verdant Robotics (autonomous farming). Before moving to California, he served as Deputy Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House under President Bill Clinton. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Yale, and a JD from Harvard.
Kent Thexton
Independent Board Member
Kent Thexton is a technology industry veteran. Kent recently retired as CEO of Sierra Wireless, a global leader in IoT Solutions. Prior to that Kent was a leader in the Canadian Venture Capital market as a Managing Partner at OMERS Ventures (2014-16) and then founding and building ScaleUP Ventures. Kent has significant public board of directors experience, Sierra Wireless from 2005 to 2018 with the last 3 years as Chairman, Redknee Solutions from 2005 to 2016, O2 PLC (FTSE, NYSE). Kent has also provided leadership on numerous private company boards. Kent’s early career was in Telecoms, with 8 years in Toronto at Rogers Wireless (Cantel) through to COO and 6 years in the UK with BT and O2 as Chief Marketing and Product Officer and on the board of directors.
Manpreet Singh
Independent Board Member
Manpreet Singh, CFA, is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Singh Capital Partners (SCP), a multifamily office that directs investments into venture capital, private equity, and real estate. in North America, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Singh has made over 50 private investments over the last decade including Baazarvoice, Alibaba, Uber, Spotify, Duo, PayTM, and more. Prior to starting SCP, Mr. Singh was the CoFounder and President of TalkLocal, a venture backed local services marketplace and was the longest tenured employee at Profit Investment Management (PIM), a DC-based firm where he helped to grow assets under management from US$20M to over US$2B. Mr. Singh serves on the boards of Acquco, US Inspect, Snowball Industries, Embrace Software, Shukr Investments, TalkLocal, the Suburban Hospital Foundation, and the Dingman Center at the Smith School of Business. Mr. Singh received his MBA from the Wharton School and holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Maryland, College Park and is a CFA charterholder.
Wijnand Donkers
Independent Board Member
Mr. Donkers is an experienced, independent, non-executive Director in both public and private equity portfolio companies. He is a non-executive Director of Brenntag SE, the world leader in chemical distribution and a DAX 40 company. Furthermore, he is a senior adviser to Cerberus Capital Management LLC and serves on several of its portfolio companies. Mr. Donkers was the CEO of Deutsche Annington SE/Vonovia SE from 2007 to 2012 and prepared the firm for its successful IPO, negotiated the successful GRAND refinancing, and modernised the firm during his tenure. He previously spent 22 years at BP PLC in several senior positions in Petrochemicals, Gas, Optimization & Trading, and was Head of Group Strategy and Planning when BP combined with Amoco, acquired Arco and Castrol. He graduated with an MBA from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, completed the AMP at Harvard Business School, as well as several post graduate programmes at Stanford Business School, Kellogg School of Management, and the University of Cambridge.
Ryan Ptolemy
CFO, Compensation Committee Member
Mr. Ptolemy is a CPA, CGA and CFA charterholder who also attained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario. Mr. Ptolemy serves as chief financial officer to many public and private companies in the investment, fintech and resource sectors. Mr. Ptolemy formerly served as chief financial officer for an independent investment dealer in Toronto, where he was responsible for financial reporting, budgeting and the company’s internal controls.
Kenny Choi
Company Secretary, Compensation Committee Member
Kenny Choi is a corporate lawyer who graduated from Western University’s JD/HBA program in 2013. He was previously an associate at a top-tier Bay Street firm, where he honed his skills in areas including equity and debt financing, mergers and acquisitions, fund formation and private and public securities law. Kenny currently acts as corporate secretary and legal counsel to various publicly-traded CSE, TSXV, TSX and NEO companies to help them develop innovative solutions to achieve their corporate goals.
Manpreet Singh
Independent Board Member
Manpreet Singh, CFA, is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Singh Capital Partners (SCP), a multifamily office that directs investments into venture capital, private equity, and real estate. in North America, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Singh has made over 50 private investments over the last decade including Baazarvoice, Alibaba, Uber, Spotify, Duo, PayTM, and more. Prior to starting SCP, Mr. Singh was the CoFounder and President of TalkLocal, a venture backed local services marketplace and was the longest tenured employee at Profit Investment Management (PIM), a DC-based firm where he helped to grow assets under management from US$20M to over US$2B. Mr. Singh serves on the boards of Acquco, US Inspect, Snowball Industries, Embrace Software, Shukr Investments, TalkLocal, the Suburban Hospital Foundation, and the Dingman Center at the Smith School of Business. Mr. Singh received his MBA from the Wharton School and holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Maryland, College Park and is a CFA charterholder.
Jon Foster
Independent Board Member
Jon Foster is CFO of Nauto, a Silicon Valley advanced mobility company that is the leader in using predictive AI to reduce auto collisions. He previously served as CFO of Zoox, a developer of autonomous electric vehicles, prior to its acquisition by Amazon in 2020. Prior to Zoox he served as CFO of a number of leading edge technology companies. Foster currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Udelv (autonomous electric delivery vehicles) and Verdant Robotics (autonomous farming). Before moving to California, he served as Deputy Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House under President Bill Clinton. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Yale, and a JD from Harvard.
Kent Thexton
Independent Board Member
Kent Thexton is a technology industry veteran. Kent recently retired as CEO of Sierra Wireless, a global leader in IoT Solutions. Prior to that Kent was a leader in the Canadian Venture Capital market as a Managing Partner at OMERS Ventures (2014-16) and then founding and building ScaleUP Ventures. Kent has significant public board of directors experience, Sierra Wireless from 2005 to 2018 with the last 3 years as Chairman, Redknee Solutions from 2005 to 2016, O2 PLC (FTSE, NYSE). Kent has also provided leadership on numerous private company boards. Kent’s early career was in Telecoms, with 8 years in Toronto at Rogers Wireless (Cantel) through to COO and 6 years in the UK with BT and O2 as Chief Marketing and Product Officer and on the board of directors.