As it nears the start of its 10th season, Formula E is at a critical juncture. Now a well-established part of the motorsport landscape, it still faces a daunting task to break out from its current position as a niche within a niche to achieve true mainstream recognition, not helped by the COVID-19 pandemic and the quickfire exits of Audi, BMW and Mercedes.
Tasked with driving the series to fresh heights is Jeff Dodds, who succeeded Jamie Reigle as the championship’s CEO exactly one month ago. On paper, the 49-year-old Briton has got the perfect resume for the job, having spent part of his career in the automotive sector with major brands like Volvo and Honda, and then latterly working in telecommunications, most notably acting as Virgin Media’s COO from 2019 to 2021.
Autosport sat down with Dodds at last month’s Portland E-Prix, which marked his first race officially on the job - although he had also attended the previous race at Jakarta in an unofficial capacity. Addressing a wide range of topics about the present and the future of the championship, he articulates his vision with confidence and clarity, belying the fact he has been in post for such a short period.
“People talk about the first 100 days as chief executive, but I think that term was coined almost 100 years ago,” says Dodds. “With the pace of life today, within 30 days you need to have a good feeling for changes you can make quickly.
“Already we’ve made some structural changes, and we announced the [2023/24] calendar, which required some quick decisions to be made. So I feel like I’m already into it. I’m excited, I’ve loads of energy to bring to it, and everywhere I look, I see potential.
“We have a great tailwind. Every month the percentage of electric cars sold around the world goes up and up. My mission is to harness all the potential, that momentum, and expose this sport to more and more people.”
From the outset, Dodds makes it clear he is a fan of ‘traditional’ motorsport, professing to be a regular viewer of both Formula 1 and MotoGP, but he is also a major proponent of the type of racing Formula E has been producing so far in Gen3. The tendency towards tactical energy-saving races - with Portland providing a particularly extreme example of the genre - has divided paddock opinion, but Dodds suggests it’s not going anywhere soon.
Source: Autosport