High-end electric bike producer Verge has appointed another high-profile executive to its senior management team. George Blankenship (above), formerly of Apple and Tesla, has joined as chief revenue officer and will be responsible for “developing Verge Motorcycles’ customer interface and customer journey, as well as its global store strategy”, according to the firm.
“Motorcycles have been manufactured with the same underlying format for the past 150 years,” says Blankenship. “At Verge, I was particularly inspired by its boldness to shake old habits. I see the same potential in Verge today as I did in Apple two decades ago and Tesla one decade ago.”
“We want Verge’s stores to be in exactly the right places in terms of brand awareness and sales. George’s holistic vision, excellent networks and industry experience will make this possible,” said Verge CTO Marko Lehtimäki.
The Verge release goes on to talk about how important brick-and-mortar stores will be for its future, pointing to success at its outlet in Monaco. Whether, as the old football pundit saw goes, they’ll be able to repeat that success selling £40k electric bikes on a wet Tuesday in Stoke remains to be seen.