Omar Zhandarbekuly is Manager at AEV Charging. He leads a new tech startup that streamlines home EV Charging procurement, installation and cost optimization in just a few clicks. We talked to Omar to learn more about his experience, his vision to facilitate the millions of single-family homeowners’ and infrastructure to transition to sustainable transportation.
Omar is an experienced program manager, with the Business Intelligence experience at Katerra – a vertically integrated construction tech startup. With $1.2 billion in funding from Softbank, the company’s mission was to disrupt the construction industry through vertical integration, productization, and technology – a vision that strongly resonated with Omar. As an ideal candidate to lead the Business Intelligence team, Omar was tasked with developing an operating model and BI tool to deliver scalable residential products across the US. This was an incredibly challenging project that required coordination among multidisciplinary professionals from diverse backgrounds. The project was a success, resulting in the development of a highly scalable and efficient BI tool that allowed Katerra to streamline its operations and deliver high-quality residential products across the US.Â
In 2021, Omar joined Rivian, an electric vehicle company, where he played a crucial role in scaling up the company’s infrastructure. As the lead of the Center of Excellence in the Facilities Technology and Controls group, Omar developed analytical capabilities to manage and expand Rivian’s charging, production, workplace, service, and retail footprint in more than 30 states. He developed the internal portfolio management and analytics solutions that tracked and analyzed spending, project schedule, and risks to ensure timely and efficient growth. Thanks to Omar’s contributions, Rivian was able to expand its physical presence and promote initial sales of R1T and R1S vehicles across the United States.Â
Being an early adopter of the R1T pickup truck himself, Omar has experienced firsthand the difficulties of finding reliable chargers and navigating the installation in homes. This experience inspired him to join AEV Charging.
There has been a surge of new EV startups in recent times, focusing on various aspects of the EV ecosystem, such as charging payment integrators, fleet management solutions, and operating software. One critical issue that requires immediate attention is home EV charging installations. Most EV manufacturers do not include a Level 2 home charger with the purchase of their vehicles, leaving new EV owners to navigate a complex home EV installation journey. To address this specific pain point, Omar has started working with Eugene, CEO of AEV Charging to make home charging installation more accessible, user-friendly, and cost-efficient.
Omar embarked on his journey with AEV Charging at a pivotal moment in the company’s growth trajectory. At the time of his arrival, AEV Charging had already achieved a significant milestone by developing a fully functional hardware prototype for their electric vehicle charging solution. However, the path forward was not entirely clear, and this is where Omar’s expertise and vision came into play.
 His primary mission was to gain a deep understanding of the market dynamics and requirements. Omar knew that developing an innovative product was only one piece of the puzzle; the key to success lay in crafting a robust commercialization strategy and executing a successful go-to-market plan. This required meticulous research, strategic thinking, and the ability to navigate the complex landscape of the electric vehicle charging industry.
Drawing from his roles at Katerra and Rivian, he has optimized manufacturing processes, ensuring efficient production of EV charging stations to meet the surging demand. Beyond this, Omar has strategically cultivated industry partnerships with car dealerships, electrical installers and other energy ecosystem players, forging collaborations that have expanded AEV Charging’s market reach and created new distribution avenues. Additionally, his commitment to thorough market research has allowed AEV Charging to define clear points of differentiation, setting the company apart in the competitive EV charging landscape using Artificial Intelligence solutions utilizing geospatial LLMs to model site locations and deployment strategies. Moreover, Omar’s financial acumen has enabled the development of detailed and well-structured financial projections, providing a solid foundation for the company’s growth strategy.
AEV Charging’s original idea has been developed and improved into a company that provides robust and effective home charging solutions for electric vehicle (EV) owners. Moreover, AEV Charging started partnering with certified local electricians to onboard them into the platform, while not only improving the bar for quality of the installation but also helping promote local home electrical service providers. To fully close the circle and become a true all-in-one platform for home ev charger installations, AEV Charging started providing support with rebates and incentive optimization as well as other energy monitoring and efficiency products to maximize homeowner return on capital investment.
Omar’s experience in tech, business intelligence, and infrastructure scaling has led them to join AEV Charging, a tech startup that streamlines home EV charging procurement, installation, and cost optimization. AEV Charging addresses a critical issue in the EV ecosystem, providing a reliable and efficient home charging solution for EV owners. Today, AEV Charging has started providing their services in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and plans to expand into San Francisco, Phoenix and Houston markets with not only home but commercial and public chargers in pipeline as well.Â
If you’re interested in learning more, check out their website at https://aevcharging.com
