In this episode of CAREER-VIEW MIRROR, we’re celebrating the career to date of Richard Savoie.

Richard is the co-founder and CEO of Adiona, which uses AI to power millions of efficient, lowest-carbon deliveries around the world for brands such as Coca-Cola and Amazon. He’s a sought-after speaker and thought leader on transport, mobility, and AI.

His career has taken him from New Hampshire to Boston, and eventually to Sydney, Australia, through roles at EMC, Smiths Medical, and Medtronic. Along the way, he’s gained experience across engineering, medical devices, and entrepreneurship — building resilience, adaptability, and the insight to eventually launch his own business in sustainable technology.

In our conversation, we talk about Richard’s early years in Nashua, New Hampshire, where family challenges and early responsibilities shaped his determination. He shares how severe asthma inspired him first toward medicine, then pivoted him into engineering after falling in love with physics.

We follow his path through Northeastern University, internships with Panametrics and EMC, and his transition into medical devices with Smiths Medical and Covidien. He reflects on career setbacks during the financial crisis, lessons from mentors, and the importance of empathy and relationships in leadership.

We also talk about his relocation to Australia, his experience running a small medical device company, and the difficult decision to leave after equity disagreements — a setback that ultimately led him into entrepreneurship. Richard describes how Adiona’s optimisation technology, developed through a partnership with Coca-Cola, delivered dramatic reductions in emissions and on-road time, and how branding, support structures, and resilience are critical to startup success.

Connect with Richard

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/richsavoie/

Website: https://www.adionatech.com/

About Andy

I’m a business leader, coach, and the creator of the Fulfilling Performance framework—designed to help people bring more of themselves to what they do and experience greater fulfilment and performance as a result.

Over the past 25+ years, I’ve led and developed businesses including Alphabet UK, BMW Financial Services in the UK, Singapore, and New Zealand, and Tesla Financial Services UK. Alongside this, I’ve coached individuals and facilitated leadership development programmes in 17 countries across Asia, Europe, and North America.

In 2016, I founded Aquilae to support leaders and teams in the mobility sector and beyond. Through workshops, coaching, and peer mentoring, we enable high performance that’s also fulfilling—for individuals, teams, and organisations.

Learn more about Fulfilling Performance

Check out Release the Handbrake! The Fulfilling Performance Hub

Connect with Andy

LinkedIn: Andy Follows
Email: cvm@aquilae.co.uk

Join a peer mentoring team: Aquilae Academy

Thank you to our sponsors:

ASKE Consulting
Email: hello@askeconsulting.co.uk

Aquilae
Email: cvm@aquilae.co.uk

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Episode recorded on 09 September, 2025.