Meet Imogen Pierce – Head of City Engagement and Integration at Arrival. Imogen already gave us an interesting insight into Arrival’s secret sauce for taking electric vehicles mainstream. In our interview now, we learn more about her current job at Arrival, what made her choose an offbeat career with studying engineering and working as Aerodynamics Engineer for Jaguar Land Rover, her significant accomplishment in her young career and her experience being a woman in this male domain. Further she tells us more about the mobility offer in London and how she gets around as well as her opinion on how mobility will change within the next five years.

1. Right now you work as Head of City Engagement and Integration at Arrival. What does your job involve and what is it that drives you?

The mobility world talks a lot about vehicles becoming a device on wheels. Enabled by software this unlocks a plethora of opportunities that expand the remit and possible ecosystem of automakers. I focus on how this ecosystem of products, services and solutions must come together to best support the environment they operate in. In particular for individual cities, each of which have different needs, cultures and objectives. We need to work collaboratively to suss out how Arrival can best support those needs.  I love having this holistic view and figuring out how we can really add value to cities and people’s lives. 

2. You studied engineering and among others worked as Aerodynamics Engineer for Jaguar Land Rover. What made you choose such an offbeat, unconventional career?

At school and university I absolutely adored maths and in particular how models could be used to make sense of complex systems. But I was also deeply interested in people, what motivates them, their lives and how they live. Engineering seemed to be this perfect blend of using logic and creativity to solve real world problems that should always be empathetic to the people they’re being designed for. 

However, I was actually a terrible aerodynamicist. It requires patience and attention to detail on a millimeter level and I was more interested in the relationship between engineering and design; and the human side of negotiating technical details. I was also fascinated by the potential for autonomous and connected technology and how mobility could start to change the fabric of cities and human behaviour. I feel really fortunate that I was able to shape my path through Jaguar Land Rover and then at Arrival to delve into the world of future mobility.

3. What project or task would you consider the most significant accomplishment in your career so far? Did you experience any disadvantage in the mobility industry due to being a woman?

Leaving Jaguar Land Rover to go to Arrival. It felt terrifying at the time, why would I leave a luxury brand that I knew inside out to work on seemingly less glamorous buses and vans? It was absolutely the right decision and it’s been amazing to be a part of the Arrival journey. I joined as employee number 386 in a company few had heard of and I’ve watched the company grow to over 1500 people and become a key player in the EV world.
In my early career there were definitely challenges that I experienced being oftentimes the only woman in a department or project - nothing aggressive or intimidating but comments that on reflection weren’t brilliant. I always want to strive to be recognised in the workplace for my opinion and for it to be deemed a valuable contribution to a conversation and that’s something that I’ve felt particularly able to do at Arrival. 
I think there is something powerful about being the different voice in the room – you’re afforded the opportunity to absorb, digest, reflect back and challenge information and ideas. The mobility industry is changing, the gender balance is improving and certainly Arrival is a diverse and supportive workplace.

4. You live and work in London. Are you satisfied with the mobility offer in the city and how do you get from A to B? 

There is very little need to own a car and I love how easy it is to walk in London. A few years ago the city made a big push to be more walkable and it’s definitely noticeable. I have devoured so many podcasts by opting to walk rather than get the tube. The Greater London Authority is a super innovative organisation and the more that mobility companies can contribute to the London Data Store to allow the GLA to unlock improvements to urban planning and access for citizens – the better.

5. How do you think will mobility already change in the next five years? 

The lines between public and private transport will become more blurred, for example public transit may bolster its services with smaller on-demand transportation. Mobility operators will form stronger ties with cities to deliver on equitable and efficient MaaS offerings. The rise of hyper local delivery will see ride hailing and delivery-hailing(?!) become one and the same. There will be big efforts to improve cycle lanes and active travel modes, ideally making them such that parents would feel comfortable letting their children cycle in busy cities. I don’t think we’ll ever see a return to fixed commuting times, and routes and timetables will need to adjust accordingly to support new ways of working.

And the +1 question from Imogen to you: “What would it take for you to give up owning a car?”

Thanks Imogen for the very inspiring talk and we continue looking forward to Arrival's journey.

Pictures: Arrival + Imogen Pierce
Interview: Britta Reineke