Robin Chase

Robin Chase is a transportation entrepreneur and pioneer of the sharing economy, best known as co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, the world's leading car-sharing network. She has since co-founded Veniam, a network company moving data between vehicles and the cloud, and launched NUMO, a global alliance channelling new urban mobility technologies to build sustainable and just cities. Named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2009 and author of Peers Inc: How People and Platforms Are Inventing the Collaborative Economy and Reinventing Capitalism, she serves on the boards of the World Resources Institute and Tucows. Robin equips organisations and governments to unlock innovation by rethinking excess capacity, platforms and collaborative models that drive both profit and environmental progress.

When Robin Chase co-founded Zipcar in 2000, she set in motion a fundamental shift in how millions of people think about car ownership, urban living, and the relationship between technology and sustainability. That single venture grew into the world's leading car-sharing network and established her as a defining voice in the collaborative economy. She has since co-founded Veniam, a network company moving terabytes of data between vehicles and the cloud, and launched NUMO, a global alliance channelling new urban mobility technologies to build cities that are sustainable and just. Now serving as President of The Transportation Channel, LLC, she continues to shape the conversation around mobility, platforms, and the future of urban infrastructure.

Robin's influence extends well beyond her entrepreneurial ventures. Named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2009, she has advised governments and organisations at the highest levels, serving on the boards of the World Resources Institute and Tucows, and previously on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the French National Digital Agency, and advisory bodies for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Her book, Peers Inc: How People and Platforms Are Inventing the Collaborative Economy and Reinventing Capitalism, articulates the principles that have guided her work: that excess capacity, when combined with smart platforms and collaborative models, can unlock innovation, create new revenue streams, and drive environmental progress. Her academic foundation, including degrees from Wellesley College and MIT Sloan, underpins a career defined by rigorous thinking and bold execution.

Robin equips organisations, city leaders, and innovators to see opportunity where others see constraint. She helps audiences understand how to identify and leverage excess capacity in their own industries, how to design platforms that enable participation rather than control, and how to build business models that serve both profit and purpose. Her insights are grounded in real-world experience, from navigating the challenges of scaling a disruptive startup to understanding the regulatory and cultural barriers that slow urban innovation. Audiences leave her sessions with practical frameworks for rethinking their approach to collaboration, technology, and sustainability, and with renewed confidence that capitalism and environmentalism can not only coexist but reinforce one another. Her work demonstrates that the most transformative innovations often come from reimagining what already exists, and she inspires leaders to act on that possibility.