In his earlier years, Hazim Nada, Co-Founder and CEO of AEHRA, wanted to be a theoretical physicist and flex his mathematical brain. Little did he know at the time that he would become the bearer of an idea with the potential to change the course of the automotive sector.
Following completion of a PhD in Applied Mathematics at the Imperial College London, Nada began on his journey in the financial sector, taking on the role of Quantitative Analyst at Citi. Following this was his stint in crude oil at Masefield, before going on to trade commodities at Merrill Lynch. It’s these years that Nada credits with really catalysing his desire to do more in terms of sustainability.
Fast-forward to today and Nada is feeling bittersweet: he and his team recently launched his vision at an exclusive showcase of the AEHRA SUV in Milan, Italy. On the one hand, Nada’s experiencing a ‘development high’ while, on the other, soldiering on towards an engineering and production strategy for the car.
Years in the trading and crude oil industry really highlighted to him the difficulties that come from oligopoly. “Crude trading is a very seasoned activity where the big participants become dominant in their sector. It’s an activity that is well known.”
While many would be put off by the idea of going against the grain—particularly in the automotive industry that has been driven by select parties—Nada saw the opportunity opening up as new entrants enjoy a fresh outlook on mobility.
Replete with perseverance and passion for his vision, the smile on his face at every mention of the word ‘AEHRA’ really says it all.
A leader of persuasion as well as perseverance
In the formative days of AEHRA, Nada had a self-imposed role to play in bringing on board the right people to make his vision come to life. Blessed with roots in a country of major automotive relevance, Nada took to finding experts from the Italian automotive scene that would share in his passion for disruption.
There came a further show of his perseverance: convincing the team that he works with today what it means to disrupt the automotive sector—an industry driven by petrol and diesel power.
“The challenge was convincing the engineering partners; many engineering firms have large scale customers. For them to entertain a small reality that was beginning at the time was quite a substantial process,” says Nada.
“And then attracting the right type of talent, getting people like Filippo Perini and all the designers we have on board, getting the engineering team that is now joining us. We also welcome a veteran in the field of engineering, Franco Cimatti, to head up production efforts.”
All of the key elements that are to be expected of a leader were taken on the shoulders of Nada himself, and now he is able to enjoy shared inspiration with his team at AEHRA. With the SUV project gaining traction, alongside new personnel and agreements arriving to take care of the manufacturing process, much of his work now revolves around spreading the word and showcasing the company’s revolutionary EVs.
The third sign of Nada’s perseverance is yet to be shown, as the company awaits a further prototype vehicle, a sedan, that it expects to release to the public. From there, he will be equipped with the tools and the vision to change the way that people view electrification.
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