Thornley unplugged: Leaves Better Place after just three months as CEO

Evan Thornley has devised a variety of exits during his career as management consultant, internet entrepreneur and politician, but it is highly unlikely he has ever been “realigned” before. Or even unplugged.

The departure of Thornley from the position of CEO of electric car recharging company Better Place – just three months after taking over from founder Shai Agassi – was quietly announced by the Israel-based company last week.

Thornley said in a memo to staff viewed by the Financial Times that he had quit because of differences with other senior executives.

“In recent times, strong and honestly held differences have emerged at the most senior levels of the company about how we best take the company forward,” Thornley wrote in an email quoted by the FT. “I do not wish to be a barrier to that unity and so will step down and let the company transition to new leadership.”

Better Place put it slightly differently, saying that management had been “re-aligned”

In any case, it seems that Thornley achieved his primary duty during his short tenure, which was to complete the next funding round for the group’s development in its Israel, Danish and Australian markets. Having got the funds together, there appears to have been stark differences over how to deploy them.

The business model of Better Place has been brought into question in recent times, with particular doubt over the “battery replacement” model, which appeared to be its unique contribution to the EV infrastructure network, along with recharging software.

Even though this still takes pride of place on its website, and the company continues to work with Holden on a battery replacement model of the Commodore, Better Place is thought to be focusing on a broader model including recharging, telematics and financing and management of batteries.

In his email to staff, Thornley said he had faith in the company. “I continue to believe that the Better Place vision is both accurate and commercially sound and trust that whatever shortfalls we suffer are correctly seen as errors of execution not of strategy.”

In an interview late last year with the FT, Thornley said the company was going through an “inflection” point from the vision and development phase to an operating phase. “That often requires different skills and a different focus, and that’s why I’m leading this,” he said at the time.

However, the new leaders of the company, at least for the time being, will be Idan Ofer, the major shareholder, who will take the role of executive chairman. CFO Alan Gelman will assume the role of heading day-to-day operations, while the CEOs of its Israel and Denmark operations would continue to run those businesses.

Better Place thanked Thornley for helping raise the capital it needed to sustain continued operations, and implement “a significant restructuring”. It wished him all the best for the future.