Episode

Partnerships Power Highland Electric’s Expanding Fleet of School Buses

Podcast
Cold Call
Published
Sep 2, 2025
Duration seconds
1862
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://hbr.org/podcast/2025/09/partnerships-power-highland-electrics-expanding-fleet-of-school-buses
Audio
https://audio.hbr.org/cold-call/20250902111441-PartnershipsPowerHighlandElectric_sExpandingFleetofSchoolBuses.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/cold-call-634317/episodes/partnerships-power-highland-electric-s-expanding-fleet-of-school-buses
Markdown
/podcast/cold-call-634317/partnerships-power-highland-electric-s-expanding-fleet-of-school-buses.md

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Summary

How do you scale innovation in a system where critical pieces are out of your control? That is the challenge Highland Electric Fleets faced as it worked to replace diesel school buses with electric vehicles across the United States. While Highland provided financing, infrastructure, and fleet operations, success depended on external partners, including manufacturers, utilities, and districts. Delays and disruptions forced the company to stay nimble and deliver under pressure. Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Highland Electric founder and CEO Duncan McIntyre join host Brian Kenny to discuss the HBS case “’The Wheels on the Bus’ Go Electric.” They explore what it takes to scale a climate solution while sustaining momentum and coordinating across public and private sectors.