MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Aug. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCQB: CCGI) ("CarCharging"), the largest owner, operator, and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging services, announced that Mike Calise has been appointed as the company's Chief Executive Officer. Michael D. Farkas will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board and will also serve as the Chief Visionary Officer.

Mr. Calise is an executive with more than a decade of cleantech experience managing the hardware, software, and service divisions for various technology companies from early stage through business plan execution. Prior to CarCharging, Mr. Calise served as the Head of North America EV Solutions at Schneider Electric, a nearly $30B world leader in energy management and energy efficiency. At Schneider Electric, he was responsible for the overall business in North America, including the company's EV strategy, products, services, channels and profitability. Prior to Schneider Electric, Mr. Calise was the founder of EVadvise, an independent firm focused on mass scale electric vehicle infrastructure, where he developed the EV Charging infrastructure technology plan for Marin Transportation Authority's countywide charger deployment as well as others. Mr. Calise also served as the president of the publicly traded United Kingdom based company, ClearSpeed, and focused on energy efficient high performance computing. In less than four years during his tenure, its value increased from less than $10 million to more than $200 million. Additionally, Mr. Calise began his career in semiconductor sales for Intel Corporation and Benchmarq Microelectronics, which was acquired by Texas Instruments, where he specialized in low power embedded processors and battery management integrated circuits.

"The EV charging industry is one of constant change and CarCharging has certainly experienced a great deal of change since its founding six years ago," said Michael D. Farkas, CarCharging's Founder and Chief Visionary Officer. "As we start our seventh year, we anticipate that this is the beginning of an amazing chapter in the growth and transformation of our company. We are excited about the energy and experience that Mike brings to the company, and his appointment provides me with the opportunity to focus on the overall vision of the company and to continue to develop new generations of both commercial and residential EV charging solutions."

"As an EV charging industry executive, I was able to witness the tremendous staying power and consistent expansion of CarCharging's services and footprint during the early development of the EV market," said Mike Calise, CarCharging's new Chief Executive Officer. "I chose to join CarCharging because I anticipate that the company and its Blink Network are poised to significantly expand their leadership role into the next demand phase of the EV charging industry. I feel confident that due to the vision set by Michael D. Farkas since it began, the company's growth trajectory will continue as we support auto manufacturers, enterprise customers, and consumers that rely on CarCharging and Blink Network to further drive EV adoption."

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 Jose, CA; New York, NY; and Phoenix, AZ; CarCharging's business model is designed to accelerate the adoption of public EV charging.

CarCharging has strategic partnerships across multiple business sectors including multi-family residential and commercial properties, parking garages, shopping malls, retail parking, and municipalities.  

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

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.

Investor Relations and Media Contacts:

CarCharging Media Contact:
Suzanne Tamargo
Suzanne@CarCharging.com
(305) 521-0200 x 214

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SOURCE Car Charging Group, Inc.