Switching Gears with Teresa Alonso
Today, we talk to Teresa, the Project Manager at Charge Cars. Over a cup of coffee Teresa discusses the new trends in automotive industry and why being a team player is of utmost importance.
Describe your day as a Project Manager at Charge Cars?
Once I arrive at the office I’ll eat some breakfast and make a very strong coffee. First off I make a list of the things I need to do during the day and then crack on with the first meeting, currently they’re daily stand-ups for vehicle progress tracking, during which we track the progress of the build, issues, and next actions. After that the days are never the same but they’re normally filled with meetings between all the departments at the company. The project managers’ job is to make sure all teams are synchronised in order to deliver the product, and making sure everyone is aligned and working to the same target.
Top tip for someone entering your field of work:
Be flexible. The target is to deliver the highest quality product, and at such a young company like Charge we had to fully define the processes to achieve that. You have to be flexible and open minded to change direction overnight if required. And the most important thing: be a team player. Specifically as a project manager in an engineering environment, you have to be surrounded by and rely on the knowledge holders.
What trend, if any, is shaping your area of work right now?
I’ve been working in the automotive industry for the last 5 years, first as an engineer, then as a project manager. BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles) are the future, and are already the present. The technology moves at an incredibly fast pace and every day there are new advancements that are going to make the switch to electric vehicles easier and more accessible for the customer and the society ie. bigger battery range, faster charging, more charging infrastructure, competitive prices etc.
Working here, what are you most looking forward to?
I can’t wait to see the customer cars being built and handed over to their owners. We have built numerous prototype cars to ensure that the final product and the finish is awesome and extremely exclusive. I think the customers are going to love it.
What book would you recommend?
I mostly read non-fiction novels, and lately I’ve been reading a lot of Spanish women authors. Elvira Lindo is one of my favourites, she’s great, I would recommend any of her books.
