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Henrik and Geeta Fisker could be described as your classic power couple determined to leave a legacy in the auto industry.
Henrik is a famous car designer who has been off the grid since his electric vehicle company, Fisker Automotive, collapsed seven years ago.
He had enjoyed a very successful career before that.
He designed the silver BMW Z8 convertible for Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond movie. The world is not enough, and also ran Aston Martin’s design studios before working as a design consultant for Elon Musk’s Tesla, working on the Model S.
Fiskers set out to make Tesla run for his money
After his hiatus, he’s now looking to give Tesla a shot for his money, and he has something he didn’t have before: his wife Geeta, the chief financial officer of Fisker Inc.
Geeta is from India and has several degrees in science, including a PhD in biotechnology from the University of Cambridge, where she was also a Research Newton Fellow.
He has managed investments for some of the highest ranking clients in the world.
Reborn from the ashes
His Los Angeles company, Forbes says, is public this time, having raised more than $ 1 billion in an October initial public offering. Its share price has also risen to 56% since the company emerged from the trenches.
“We have very different work styles. I’d almost say it’s a right brain / left brain type segregation. The right side of the brain is the creative side, so that’s Henrik. The left side is the data-driven analytical brain. That would be me. “
Facing Tesla with Fisker Ocean SUV
The team plans to sell its Fisker Ocean, a battery-powered SUV (above), by 2022. The retail price is currently set at $ 37,500.
One of Tesla’s cheapest models, the Model 3, has a starting price of $ 36,200.
“One thing that is on Geeta’s plate is to reduce the cost further. One of the things on my plate is making sure we have a stellar product. “
The big bet that they have claimed in this new iteration of the company is to ensure that they have control over its direction.
Fisker Automotive was a difficult lesson because its namesake, who was also chief designer, CEO and board member, lacked a crucial title: owner. “He didn’t own a single share in the company,” Geeta says.
“Property is the only way to influence decisions, the right decisions,” he says. “That’s why when we structured the deal… what was really important to us was the super-voting rights. Because what you don’t want is a replay of what happened last time, when other people come in and make the decisions. “
Last Chance Lounge
The couple has had to overcome a lot to get to this point.
After investing her life savings in the new company, Geeta discovered she had breast cancer.
“He got the call (from his doctor) during a call with investors,” says Henrik.
“Despite that bombshell, he continued to work with banks and investors in the weeks that followed, even as he underwent two surgical procedures and radiation therapy. His medical therapy ended in November.
She is keeping an eye on things.
Geeta, currently cancer-free, notes that if this venture fails, they will both be out of work for the foreseeable future.
“Henrik and I will never get a job if this fails, we are done,” he says. “We are not doing this to get rich. We do this because we want to create an amazing company that makes amazing cars. We want to make really cool green cars, affordable cars. “
But there appears to be a tough road ahead for the Fiskers.
Elon Musk’s personal fortune hit a new high on Friday as Tesla prepares to make its debut on the S&P 500 Index.
A late jump in Tesla’s share price raised Musk’s net worth nearly $ 9 billion to $ 167.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The 49-year-old South African-born entrepreneur has added $ 139.7 billion this year, an amount that exceeds the total net worth of anyone on the planet other than Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos. Bezos, who for now leads the wealth index with $ 187.3 billion.
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