Barnee Lloyd joins Formula E for a once-in-a-life-time, six-month internship in its technology department ahead of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
British software engineer Barnee Lloyd is the first Modis Formula E Innovation Manager. The ABB FIA Formula E Championship and Modis picked out the 25-year-old Cambridge University graduate after an exacting selection process involving nearly 2,000 talented and diverse applicants from 62 countries. Lloyd will join Formula E on a six-month internship under the expert mentorship of Formula E Head of Technology Eric Ernst. He will be tasked with designing and delivering a brand-new software platform for the championship in time for the new 2018/2019 season.
The Innovation Manager Challenge is designed to discover the world’s next sustainable tech superstar and to promote careers in e-mobility – a rapidly-growing sector that combines technology, sustainability and innovation.
Modis – Formula E’s official partner for professional solutions for IT and engineering - launched the global search for aspiring innovators to join the electric street racing series in May 2018. The competition consisted of a demanding four-stage selection process that involved psychometric tests on a dedicated Modis.com platform, face-to-face interviews with Modis consultants and complex problem solving.
The “top five” took part in a grand final selection day at the Formula E offices in London, facing a panel of experts and a range of exercises designed to test for their suitability for life in the fast-paced and ever-changing world of electric racing and e-mobility, such as logical thinking, behavioural traits and numerical aptitude.
Lloyd, a keen drummer and software enthusiast who has worked for Tesla and Aston Martin, impressed the judges with top scores in the combined “innovator profile” and “aptitude” test. He said he was excited about the prospect of working in such a fast-growing and dynamic championship, which is about to enter its fifth season.