As the head of design and innovation at India’s largest ride-hailing company, I led a team of ~20 talented designers and innovators in transforming the future of mobility. Our work spanned multiple groundbreaking initiatives, from connected car ecosystems to electric vehicle solutions, all aimed at revolutionizing transportation.
Objectives
- Create innovative mobility solutions that enhance user experience and drive sustainable transportation
- Build and lead a world-class design and innovation team
- Develop transformative projects that integrate technology, design thinking, and user needs
- Pioneer sustainable mobility solutions through electric vehicle initiatives
Key Projects
- Ola Play: Connected Car Ecosystem
- Transformed vehicles into interactive entertainment and information hubs
- Developed personalized content delivery for passengers and drivers
- Established partnerships with content providers, hardware manufacturers, and app developers
- Created an immersive connected car experience
- Ola Electric: Sustainable Mobility
- Developed purpose-built electric vehicles
- Established charging infrastructure
- Integrated seamlessly with the existing platform
- Accelerated electric vehicle adoption and reduced carbon emissions
- Safety and Experience Initiatives
- Implemented AI-dashcam systems for driver and passenger safety
- Designed Concepts for EV flagship stores
- Created the Ola Electric brand experience
- Developed comprehensive service design systems
- Service Design Systems
- Driver onboarding
- Device installation protocols
- Battery swapping infrastructure
- Retail experience optimization
Team Leadership
Led a talented team of designers and innovators including: Akhilan K, Arijit Dey, Arjun S, Hardik Pandya, Hemanth Ravindran, Krishna Prasad, Manas Vaze, Manu Chaudhary, Mihul Prakash, Poorva Mankad, Priyanka Meena, Ravi Ahirwar, Shant Sagar, Shiven, Shreeyash Salunke, Sudhir Mor, Vinod Ramamoorthy
Innovation Impact
The team’s work resulted in:
- Revolutionary connected car experience through Ola Play
- Advancement in sustainable transportation with Ola Electric
- Enhanced safety features through AI integration
- Improved service design across multiple touchpoints
- Multiple patent filings (available at: https://patents.justia.com/inventor/parth-suthar)
Outcome
Through strategic leadership and innovative design thinking, we successfully transformed India’s largest ride-hailing company into a pioneer of mobility innovation. By integrating cutting-edge technology with user-centric design, we created solutions that not only enhanced the transportation experience but also contributed to a more sustainable future.