Bin Sulayem to head Virgin Hyperloop
Jay Walder takes over as CEO focusing on project in India
Group chairman and CEO of DP World has been elected its new chairman, replacing Richard Branson |
Virgin Hyperloop One on Friday announced that Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World, has been elected its new chairman, replacing Sir Richard Branson.
Jay Walder, who was CEO of bike-sharing operator Motivate and the Hong Kong transit company MTR Corporation, has been appointed as its new CEO. Walder will also join the company’s board of directors.
A Dubai Media Office statement said the selection of a new senior management team will “allow Virgin Hyperloop One to transition its focus from technology start-up to mass transportation company ■ beginning with the implementation of the world’s first hyperloop system running from Pune to Mumbai.”
‘Uncharted territory’
“As we enter uncharted territory in implementing an entirely new kind of mass transportation, we needed a leader with deep understanding of public transportation, and experience in infrastructure financing,” said Bin Sulayem.
Walder said he looks forward to joining the company. “I have focused my career on using technology to advance innovation in transportation, so I could not pass up the opportunity,” he said. Walder will replace Rob Lloyd, who served as CEO for more than three years.
Virgin Hyperloop One is focusing on a major current project in India, where the government has recently declared the Pune-Mumbai hyperloop project as a public infrastructure project with international consortium DP World and Virgin Hyperloop One as the original project proponent.
If the government ultimately awards it a concession for the project, the company expects to start construction on the 11km test loop in 2019. The hyperloop can reduce travel time between Mumbai and Pune from about four hours to just 25 minutes.