NextEV Names Padmasree Warrior to Lead Tesla Chase

SAN FRANCISCO: NextEV Inc named Padmasree Warrior, Cisco Systems' former technology chief, to lead US operations as the Chinese electric-car startup takes on Tesla Motors Inc.

Warrior, 55, will be US chief executive officer and head of development for software and the user experience, NextEV said in a statement Wednesday. One of Silicon Valley's leading advocates for women in tech, she left Cisco in September and joined Microsoft's board of directors this month.

"I really care about solving big global problems," Warrior said in an interview. "It's not just electric cars. It's how can you use the mobile Internet era to bring the user much closer to the brand - we call it user enterprise. The vision is not just about technology, but changing the experience."

NextEV was founded last year by William Li, chairman of Chinese car pricing portal Bitauto Holdings, and a group of Internet entrepreneurs. Martin Leach, the former CEO of Maserati and president of Ford Europe, is president. NextEV is backed by Tencent Holdings, Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital and Joy Capital, and is seeking to raise $1 billion. The hiring adds a veteran Silicon Valley executive with technical and leadership experience to the management ranks of Shanghai-based NextEV.