EF News
We’re excited to bring you a new Talking Future podcast episode.
Created by the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, Talking Future focuses on the lives and work of North East entrepreneurs, their views of the future and how they are innovating as they plan ahead.
In our sixth episode, Yvonne Bell speaks to Commercial Director of Hyperdrive Innovation, Stephen Irish, about the future of battery technology and what's needed to achieve a clean energy future.
About Stephen Irish
As Commercial Director of Hyperdrive Innovation, Stephen has a wealth of experience in battery technology development and product delivery and even wrote his degree thesis on electric and hybrid vehicle technology almost 25 years ago. A former Jaguar Landrover engineer, he navigates Hyperdrive through new and exciting markets and this year oversaw the signing of an exclusive supply agreement with Hitachi Rail to develop battery packs to power zero-emission trains and create a battery hub in the North East. Since 2012, the Hyperdrive Directors with the support of their investors, have grown the team to over 45 employees with a forecasted turnover of over £15m in 2020.
About Yvonne Bell
Yvonne Bell comes from a background in transport, where the Bell family company spans 4 generations.
During her career, Yvonne spent most of her time in the Mercedes Truck, Van and Car franchises, mainly heading up the marketing function and generally steering the company through the growth that, by the time it was sold in 2017, meant it covered the North East Region from Teesside up to North Northumberland with a staff of almost 200.
Outside of business, she has always been keen to get involved in other things such as community and Hospital radio presenting, local magazine editing, audio editing for a local historical Trust and being instrumental in the setting up a local gym specifically for wheelchair users.
As a long-time member of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, she was pleased to be asked to take a seat on the board a few years ago where she is able to offer her own business experience to other members.
Talking Future is available on Spotify, Anchor and YouTube. With a new episode released every 3 weeks, if you like what you hear, help us spread the word by subscribing and sharing!
