It was confirmed on Wednesday by the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship that after four years, CEO Jamie Reigle would be stepping down from his position, with his replacement having already been announced.
Reigle has certainly had to deal with a lot in his four-year spell as CEO, with the Canadian having held the role during the Coronavirus pandemic, a time when motorsport across the world came to a halt. He’s also overseen the start of the Gen3 era as well as the all-electric championship’s new format, whilst working alongside Formula E Founder and Chairman, Alejandro Agag.
Replacing Reigle is Jeff Dodds, who joins Formula E from Virgin Media O2. Dodds has been their Chief Operating Officer for the past two years, whilst before that he was Virgin Media’s COO, Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer. Dodds has also previously been the CEO of telecoms business Tele2.
To ensure the transition of power is smooth, Reigle will take on an advisory role for the remainder of the 2022/23 season which concludes in London at the end of July. Agag is delighted to welcome Dodds to Formula E in what he labels as an “exciting phase” for the series, whilst he was quick to thank Reigle for his “leadership”.
“I am pleased to welcome Jeff Dodds as Chief Executive Officer ahead of an exciting phase for Formula E as we build upon the success of Season 9,” Agag said, as per Formula E.
“Jeff brings a proven track record of dynamic leadership and impressive execution to Formula E, and the Board looks forward to him unlocking the full potential of Formula E, for the benefit of our fans, teams, manufacturers, partners and stakeholders.
“I would like to thank Jamie for his leadership over the last four years and welcome his support over the remainder of the season. I enjoyed partnering with Jamie to build upon my founding vision while reimagining the definition of success for Formula E. It has been a pleasure working with him and I look forward to welcoming him back at Formula E races in the future.”
Speaking about his departure, Reigle shared how much of an “honour” it’d been to have held the role of CEO, with him now looking forward to becoming simply a “passionate Formula E fan” once again.
“It has been an honour leading Formula E for the last four years,” Reigle said.
“I was initially attracted to Formula E’s unique position as a sport at the intersection of innovation, sustainability and electric mobility. What I found was far more ambitious and humbling; a passionate group of people committed to building a global sport while changing the world.
“This mission continues under new leadership and as someone who benefitted from a partnership with Alejandro I’m happy to support Jeff before reverting to life as a passionate Formula E fan.”
For his replacement, Dodds is “thrilled” with his new job and “incredibly excited” to lead FE “into the next chapter”, with the sport’s next era already being a huge talking point.
“I am thrilled to take on the role of CEO at Formula E,” said Dodds.
“My passion for automotive, sport and entertainment means I am incredibly excited about this opportunity. Formula E is a unique platform that blends cutting-edge technology with the world’s most sustainable sport, providing endless potential for innovation and positive change. There is a world-class team at Formula E and I am excited to lead them into the next chapter, shaping the future of motorsport and redefining what is possible.”
