Employee Spotlight – Ross Basnett
Describe your current role and how long you’ve worked at FOD.
I’ve been at FOD for 4 years as Strategic Account Director. I work with customers and partners to develop Mobility as a Service (MaaS) projects so we can learn how to use Mobilleo to get people out of sole occupancy cars and into shared, public and active forms of travel.
Tell us more about your current role and responsibilities.
A bit of everything really. I find opportunities to sell in Mobilleo to public and private sector organisations then work with partners and other stakeholders to implement it, market it, evaluate it and evolve it by engaging with new transport operators. MaaS is still so new that we’re all learning how to do it well and sustainably, so there’s a lot of market engagement and thought leadership as well.
Which projects are you currently working on?
We’re live with the Go-Hi project in Scotland, which has ongoing integration work happening. We also have the Future Flight project where we’re part of a wider consortium trialling cutting edge tech like Hydrogen powered flight and flight automation where MaaS is part of the wider solution. Soon we’re implementing the MK:GO pilot and supporting a housing developer partner who are implementing a mobility hub in London. We’ve also just launched the TfWM project for the West Midlands, which is a monster!
What made you want to pursue your current career path?
I’ve worked for years in the fleet industry as a Fleet Manager and Fleet Consultant. It’s been obvious for a long time that the future isn’t just fleet, but mobility, and I wanted to be part of that transition. I knew our CEO Justin Whitston from a previous role and as soon as we spoke about Mobilleo I thought it could be something amazing and lots of effort later we’re starting to see really positive results.
What do you find most rewarding about your role?
For me it’s having the freedom to try new things and find new opportunities for Mobilleo.
What have been your proudest moments at work to date?
Getting our first ever MaaS pilot off the ground in Manchester back in 2019 and much more recently finding out that we’d won the Future Transport Zone procurement with Transport for West Midlands, which is a real milestone for us.
What’s one professional skill you’re working on?
Empathy for our Development team’s workload, I’ll get there one day!
What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?
Make some time now and again to ‘go and sit under a tree’. Not meant literally but take time to step back from the daily tasks, look more broadly at what you are doing and question what could be done better or where new opportunities could be.
Describe a challenge you’ve faced this year and how you overcame it?
Balancing the requirements of my job with family and supporting Mrs. B while she’s going through training and qualifying as a teacher. It takes a lot more planning now to make sure the dog gets walked…
What do you hope to achieve over the next 12 months?
We’re currently working through our expansion plan for 2023, which includes the launch of Mobilleo into new UK markets and in new territories globally. We’re hoping to make big steps towards that whilst delivering the projects we are already committed to once the new native version of Mobilleo is here in August.
How would your friends describe you?
Missing, probably off somewhere on his bike…
Can you describe the top 3 items on your bucket list?
Compete in Megavalanche, watch Stoke City win an FA Cup final and drive across the US from East to West.
If you could meet anyone famous past or present, who would it be and why?
1970’s era Alan Hudson for a few beers.
Share a random fact about yourself.
I played football from the age of about 6 until my mid-30’s, and scored more own goals than goals.
What are your top three favourite songs of all time?
End Credits – Chase and Status
Today – Smashing Pumpkins
Rez – Underworld
What did you want to be when you grew up and why?
Weirdly, an Optician. My eyes are pretty bad and this was after wearing glasses for the first time and seeing all the detail I had been missing.