Eric Bendler

Independent advisor and former operating executive with 15+ years building, scaling, and monetizing EV charging, fleet, and service operations at Tesla, VinFast, and Siemens. Brings an operator's view of what it takes to deploy EV infrastructure at scale: the unit economics, the uptime realities, the partner ecosystems, and the enterprise adoption hurdles that decide whether a charging platform wins. Has held full P&L for a $200M SaaS and digital solutions portfolio, built a 15-state charging and service network from zero, and standardized operations across 100+ global sites.

Advises executive teams and investors on fleet electrification operating models, partnerships across OEMs, utilities, and infrastructure providers, energy management and V2G expansion, and the growth, risk, and technology decisions that drive long-term value.

Strategic Advisor, EV Charging, eMobility & Operational Excellence at INDEPENDENT ADVISORY PRACTICE (2025-10 – Present)

Advises technology companies scaling complex operations, with a focus on EV charging software, fleet electrification, and energy management.

• Operator-Led Advisory: Provides leadership teams with independent perspective on operating models, product and service portfolio strategy, partnership evaluation, and go-to-market readiness.
• Scale Readiness: Pressure-tests growth plans against the operational realities of deployment, including uptime, field service capacity, partner dependencies, and unit economics.

Head of Software and Service Portfolio, eMobility & Smart Infrastructure at SIEMENS (2022-04 – 2025-10)

Led the EV charging software, service, and commercial portfolio across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada in a $1B market, spanning product management, systems engineering, platform operations, and strategic partnerships.

• P&L & Growth: Held full P&L for a $200M SaaS and digital solutions portfolio serving commercial networks and federal deployments; exceeded revenue targets by 20% at 10% under budget and grew portfolio revenue 25% YoY across enterprise, commercial, and utility channels.
• Fleet & Public Sector Charging: Led compliance and feature delivery for transit and public-sector fleet depot charging (SOC 2, ISO standards, federal SaaS authorizations), unlocking high-margin enterprise recurring revenue.
• Partner Ecosystem & Interoperability: Established open software partnerships (GO TO-U, Epic Charging) enabling API integration, reservations, multi-tenant billing, and OCPP-compliant connectivity across AC and DC fast charging.
• Service Model & AI Operations: Unified field and digital service models and embedded AI-assisted automation in monitoring and support workflows, driving 50% recurring revenue growth, 25% lower operating costs, and +20 NPS.
• Enterprise Go-to-Market: Partnered with executive leadership, global R&D, and sales on packaging, pricing tiers, channel enablement, and enterprise SLAs for new product introductions.

Director of Charging and Service at VINFAST (2020-01 – 2022-04)

Recruited to build the North American charging infrastructure, customer support, and field service network from zero for U.S. market entry.

• Charging Network Build: Led charging access strategy and site builds, including site selection, permitting, utility interconnection, and EPC/GC management, supporting 100% annual network growth across 15 states.
• Partners & Uptime: Negotiated and integrated third-party charging networks, telematics vendors, and field partners under SLA governance, securing 99%+ network uptime and 20% lower operating costs.
• Service Operations: Built a nationwide service and collision network with distributed field teams, technician development, QA protocols, and digital roadside assistance, reducing warranty claim cycle times.

Executive Consultant, eMobility, SaaS & Operations Strategy at GERSON LEHRMAN GROUP (GLG) (2018-12 – 2020-01)

• Investor & Executive Advisory: Advised venture capital firms, institutional investors, and Tier-1 automotive and energy executives on eMobility software adoption, charging infrastructure monetization, V2G integration strategy, and scalable hardware-software business models.
• Market Entry: Built operational readiness and field service roadmaps for EV manufacturers and infrastructure operators entering North American and European markets.

Global Program Manager, Global Operational Excellence & Service Platforms at TESLA (2009-01 – 2018-12)

Promoted through progressive leadership roles during Tesla's growth from boutique EV maker to mass-market leader.

• Global Standardization: Standardized service operations and diagnostic tooling across 100+ sites in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, translating operational requirements into enterprise software.
• Uptime & Predictive Service: Launched mobile and virtual service with remote diagnostics and OTA troubleshooting, and used telematics and ML to flag component failures before driver impact; raised technician productivity 25%, cut wait times 50%, and lifted NPS 15%.
• New Business Lines: Created Certified Pre-Owned refurbishment hubs and reverse logistics, a scalable business line supporting 50% YoY revenue growth.
• Launch Readiness: Led Midwest Model S and Model X launch operations; designed the hybrid mobile and fixed service model adopted globally as the corporate blueprint.

Healthcare Specialist (91W) at U.S. ARMY (2001-01 – 2005-12)

Delivered frontline care and managed battalion medical readiness in high-stakes, mission-critical environments.

B.S. in Natural Resource Conservation – University of Florida

Graduate Certificate in Environmental Policy & Management – University of Florida