Munro Vehicles, the Scottish commercial electric vehicle company, has announced a strengthened leadership team to support its next phase of growth — which includes its first factory planned for the UK.
Avinash Rugoobur has been appointed chief executive officer, Tim Holbrow joins as chief financial officer, and co-founder and former CEO Russell Peterson becomes chief product officer as Munro prepares to scale globally following the successful commercial launch of the firm’s Series M vehicle.
“The appointments bring deep automotive and technology expertise to Munro at a pivotal moment,” said the firm.
“With its specialist electric 4×4 now in customers’ hands and growing demand across mining, defence, construction and utilities, the company is moving from proven product to commercial scale, with its first factory planned for the UK.
“Munro is Scotland’s first car maker in over 45 years and the company behind the Series M — the only all-electric 4×4 purpose-built for extreme off-road and heavy industrial use.
“Rather than offering a fixed product, Munro works directly with each customer to engineer vehicles and services around their specific operational requirements, from specialist equipment integration to custom body configurations. Every Munro leaves the factory as a field-ready solution.
“This level of customisation is commonly found in aerospace and defence industries and makes Munro’s offering uniquely compelling in automotive manufacturing for the sectors its targeting.”
On new CEO Avinash Rugoobur, Munro said: “Avinash brings more than twenty years’ experience across the global automotive and technology sectors.
“A mechatronics and computer science engineer by training, he began his career at General Motors before moving into innovation and new business, where he was instrumental in the ~$1 billion acquisition of self-driving start-up Cruise and later led Strategy and M&A, as Cruise grew to a $14 billion valuation.
“He later served as President of Arrival, the British electric commercial vehicle company, where he led business strategy. Most recently, he was Chairman of Munro Vehicles, giving him a deep understanding of the Company’s technology, market opportunity and customer pipeline.”
Rugoobur said: “Firstly, I would like to thank Russ and Ross for this opportunity. They have led a talented team in creating an exceptional product, with customers already taking delivery and a growing order book to match. Munro is at exactly the kind of inflection point I find most exciting.
“The Series M is built to suit customers’ exact needs and to power through situations where others break down. My focus now is on scaling the business to meet demand and establishing Munro as the global standard for specialist electric 4x4s in heavy industry.”
On new CFO Tim Holbrow, Munro said: “Tim is an experienced finance executive with a track record of scaling high-growth hardware and software technology businesses.
“He joins from Nothing, the consumer technology company, where as CFO he led the raising of more than $300 million in funding, helping build the business into a $1.3 billion unicorn and one of the most recognised challenger brands in consumer electronics. Prior to Nothing, he held senior roles at Arrival, Somo Global, Symbian, and Nokia.”
Holbrow said: “Munro has a category-defining product with real commercial traction and a clear global runway. Our customers focus on uptime and total cost of ownership, and I am excited to take on the responsibility to further enable their businesses through our product and services.
“We are building the financial foundations that allow us to scale at pace, and to bring in the investment needed to get there.”
New chief product officer Russell Peterson co-founded Munro in 2019 and has served as CEO since launch.
“He now moves into the role of CPO, a natural evolution that allows him to focus on what he does best: building world-class products,” said Munro.
“His vision drove the creation of the Series M from a blank sheet of paper, resulting in a vehicle widely regarded as the most capable and efficient electric 4×4 in its class. As CPO, he will continue to lead product development, ensuring Munro maintains its engineering edge as it scales and introduces new products and services that maximise customer uptime.”
Peterson said: “Building Munro from idea to product has been the most rewarding challenge of my career.
“We set out to create an electric 4×4 that could genuinely outperform combustion engine vehicles in the most demanding environments in the world, and we’ve done that.
“When we started, we initially thought we could electrify existing vehicles, but found the only way to truly meet customer needs was to build our own from scratch, the Series-M. With that complete, moving into the CPO role lets me stay focused on what I love, whilst Avinash and Tim bring the commercial firepower to take the business to its next level. I can’t think of a better team to do it.”
The company added: “Munro was founded in 2018 with the idea of converting older Land Rovers to electric vehicles. The team soon realised the real challenge was not electrification itself, but the limitations of existing base vehicles not built for purpose and difficult to maintain.
“Recognising a multi-billion-pound unmet market need, they developed an entirely new vehicle designed to solve these problems. Today, Munro is delivering the Series M in Utility, Truck and Chassis configurations, with a 1,050kg payload, up to 200 miles of real-world range and 130kW rapid charging.
“Last year the company completed a rigorous 18-month accelerated durability test programme, with trials conducted almost entirely off-road to simulate the harsh, real-world environments demanded by commercial fleet buyers in mining, defence, emergency response, and beyond.
“The results firmly validate the Series M as a durable, resilient solution for organisations operating in the world’s most toughest environments as they transition to net zero. The vehicle was also named best off-roader at the Top Gear 2026 EV Awards.”