MIAMI BEACH, Fla., May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCQB: CCGI) ("CarCharging"), a nationwide provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging services, announced that Andrew L. Shapiro has been appointed to the firm's Board of Directors. Andrew L. Shapiro, who was recently described as "green business's go-to-guy" by Fortune's Marc Gunther, has spent the last two decades connecting new technologies and introducing change.  Over the last twelve years, Mr. Shapiro has specialized in energy and environmental innovation with a previous focus on information technology and globalization.

Mr. Shapiro founded and currently leads Broadscale Group, a new model of investment firm working with leading energy corporations to invest in and commercialize the industry's most promising market-ready innovations. Prior to Broadscale, Mr. Shapiro founded GreenOrder, a strategic advisory firm that worked with more than 100 enterprises to create energy and environmental innovation as a competitive advantage. In this capacity, Mr. Shapiro and his team worked with General Electric's leadership on the creation and execution of its multi-billion dollar "ecomagination" initiative, provided strategic counsel to General Motors on the launch of the Chevrolet Volt, and served as the green advisor for 7 World Trade Center, New York City's first LEED-certified office tower. GreenOrder's client list included Alcan, Allianz, Bloomberg, BP, Bunge, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dell, Disney, Duke Energy, DuPont, eBay, Hines, HP, JPMorganChase, KKR, McDonald's, Morgan Stanley, NASDAQ OMX, National Grid, NBC Universal, NRG, Office Depot, Pfizer, Polo Ralph Lauren, Simon Property Group, Staples, Target, Tishman Speyer, TXU, and Waste Management. Mr. Shapiro and GreenOrder also co-founded the US Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance (US PREF), and created GO Ventures, a subsidiary to incubate and invest in environmentally innovative businesses, which cofounded and financed California Bioenergy, Class Green Capital, and GreenYour.com.  Mr. Shapiro also led the sale of GreenYour.com to Recyclebank and joined Recyclebank's Sustainability Advisory Council.  

"Over the past year, CarCharging has made immense strides in growing our business and we are delighted that Andrew L. Shapiro has joined our Board of Directors," said Michael D. Farkas, CEO of CarCharging.  "Andrew's extensive experience in the energy and technology sectors is an exceptional combination for the EV charging industry and we look forward to working with him in continuing to move our business forward."

"EVs are one of the most exciting innovations of our time, benefiting our economy, environment, and energy security – while improving the experience of driving," said Andrew L. Shapiro.  "I am delighted to work with CarCharging, a pioneer in this industry, to accelerate the EV revolution."

"We are so pleased to add Mr. Shapiro to CarCharging's Board of Directors," said Governor Bill Richardson, CarCharging's Chairman of the Board. "Andrew's accomplishments in the energy industry are unparalleled and we are confident that he will be a tremendous asset to CarCharging's Board."

In 1999, Mr. Shapiro wrote a book about technology, The Control Revolution, an Amazon.com bestseller, which was called "an excellent, balanced and thorough new book" by the LA Times, and in 1992 he was invited by President Clinton to speak at his post-election Economic Summit. His writing has appeared in diverse publications including the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The Nation, and GreenBiz, and he has appeared on CNN, PBS, NBC's Today Show, BBC, and NPR. Mr. Shapiro has been a visiting faculty member at Yale and Columbia, is on the advisory board of Yale's Center for Business and the Environment, and The Climate Group's Clean Revolution initiative, and has served on environmental committees for the NYC2012 Olympic Bid, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and the Urban Land Institute.  He was a longtime board member at the Southern Center for Human Rights and the nonprofit Reboot, and served at the appointment of Mayor Michael Bloomberg on a task force on career and technical education. Mr. Shapiro was also named by MIT's Technology Review as one of 100 young innovators who would shape the future of technology.  

Mr. Shapiro is a graduate of Brown University, Phi Beta Kappa, and Yale Law School. He served as a law clerk to Judge Pierre N. Leval of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and was admitted to the New York State bar. 

About Car Charging Group, Inc.   
Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCQB: CCGI) is a pioneer in nationwide public electric vehicle (EV) charging services, enabling EV drivers to easily recharge at locations throughout the United States. Headquartered in Miami Beach, FL with offices in San Francisco, CA; New York, NY; and Phoenix, AZ; CarCharging's business model is designed to accelerate the adoption of public EV charging.

CarCharging offers various options to commercial and residential property owners for EV charging services. Our typical business model provides a comprehensive turnkey program where CarCharging owns and operates the EV charging equipment; manages the installation, maintenance, and related services; and shares a portion of the EV charging revenue with the property owner. Alternatively, property partners can share in the equipment and installation expenses with CarCharging operating and managing the EV charging stations and providing network connectivity. For properties interested in purchasing and owning EV charging stations, CarCharging can also provide EV charging hardware, site recommendations, connection to the Blink Network, and management and maintenance services.

Through its subsidiary, Blink Network, CarCharging also provides residential EV charging solutions for single-family homes.  For more information, please visit www.BlinkHQ.com.

CarCharging has strategic partnerships across multiple business sectors including multi-family residential and commercial properties, parking garages, shopping malls, retail parking, and municipalities.  CarCharging's partners include, but are not limited to Walgreens, IKEA, Wal-Mart, Simon Property Group, Equity One, Equity Residential, Forest City, Cinemark USA, Fox Studios, Facebook, PayPal, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, Mayo Clinic, San Diego Padres, University of Pennsylvania, Ace Parking, Central/USA Parking, Icon Parking, Rapid Parking, Parking Concepts, CVS, Related Management, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, City of Phoenix (AZ), City of Philadelphia (PA), and City of Miami Beach (FL).

CarCharging is committed to creating a robust, feature-rich network for EV charging and is hardware agnostic.  CarCharging's owns the Blink network, and owns and operates EV charging equipment manufactured by Blink, Aerovironment, ChargePoint, General Electric, Nissan, and SemaConnect. CarCharging's Level II charging stations are compatible with EVs sold in the United States including the Tesla Model S, Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt, Mitsubishi i-Miev, Toyota Prius Plug-In, Honda Fit EV, and Toyota Rav4 EV, as well as many others scheduled for release over the next few years.

For more information about CarCharging, please visit www.CarCharging.com, www.facebook.com/Car.Charging, or www.twitter.com/CarCharging.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:  
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the near future.  Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Car Charging Group, Inc., and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed conditions.

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SOURCE Car Charging Group, Inc.