The people behind the wheel: Agustin Guilisasti’s story, HumanForest

Can you tell us about your role at HumanForest?

I am the Founder and CEO of HumanForest. We are almost 70 people now, so I spend my days overseeing our team heads. My passion is in Operations, as that’s my background and experience. I’ve been in the mobility apps sector for most of my working life. I was part of the Cabify founding team, Spain’s first unicorn and the first ride-hailing company to achieve positive EBITDA and offset their carbon footprint. 

What inspired you to seek a career in the transport industry?

I always believed that we could help to change how people move, which was re-affirmed when I moved to London to study.  

I have always been committed to the belief that it is possible to help change how people moved from A to B, centred around the freedom that is associated with shared transport that private ownership doesn’t allow. 

Originally, I was able to pursue this by bringing shared ride-hailing to Chile for the first time, which had transformed how people moved and gave people the freedom and choice to conduct their daily lives slightly differently to before. 

My experience of moving to London to study only furthered my interest, as I was frustrated with the limited and expensive mobility solutions that were available in the city at the time, so I saw another opportunity – this time, with bikes.

While there was a gradual improvement in cycling infrastructure, there was still a huge market opportunity under-served by expensive operators. Creating my own e-bike sharing service was a natural fit, as it addressed both the environmental and mobility issues that I was invested in, while providing a unique mode of transport for everyone to explore and enjoy our wonderful city!

Have you experienced any challenges in your role and, if yes, how have you overcome them?

Every day is a different day, but that is what is exciting about our job! We have been learning about the market and making changes to make sure that we’re adapting to what our users want and need. 

Some of our biggest changes have happened on our advertising technology (AdTech) platform, which is what helps to keep our fleet affordable. At the beginning, advertising with us was very exclusive (partners had to commit to a large number of impressions). We soon realised that this was not aligned; everyone wants to be a part of sustainable change, including those in marketing and advertising, but not all companies have large marketing budgets available. Now, we’ve made our platform accessible to everyone – partners can join us with a small number of impressions and still make a big impact. 

We are very proud of our Impact Platform – we believe that a sustainable way of doing things (including advertising) should not be for just a few, but for everyone. 

Credit: HumanForest

Has a career in transport changed your perception of the industry as a whole?

It is so fast paced! The micro-mobility industry is incredibly innovative and able to pivot quickly. At HumanForest, we have integrated an AdTech platform which enables us to offer our riders with 10 minutes of free riding daily. We see this as the future of travel, allowing companies to deploy their ad spend with the purpose to decarbonise cities.  

What would be the top three highlights of your career in the industry to date?

There are so many highlights, but my top three would definitely include:

• Founding HumanForest and reaching one million rides in London
• Becoming a B-Corp – one of only two micro-mobility companies in the world to do so
• A trip to the Amazon with the Cabify founding team which inspired me to start HumanForest.  

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

Moving between European capitals while visiting HumanForest’s operations.  

What key pieces of advice would you give to someone who is interested in a career in transport?

Never ever give up. Keep on pushing and good things will come. 

In the future, what do you hope to see become more commonplace in the transport industry workforce?

I hope to see the transport industry fully recognising the needs of our population and working for everyone – all voices must be represented. At HumanForest, we work hard to ensure equal opportunities, which includes recruiting from minority groups (30% of the workforce identify as being from a minority group) and 36% of leadership positions are held by women.

However, there is always more that, not just us, but the whole industry can be doing. We’re committed to attending student fairs and career evenings, speaking at universities and showing the next generation that micro-mobility and transport more generally is a sector for them and that an exciting career awaits. 

Creating an inclusive culture is the most sustainable way of helping people feel safer, happier and more productive at work. With this in place, then we are in the best possible position to serve our partner cities and their residents. 

In an ideal world, what do you hope the future of public transport will look like?

In an ideal world, all modes of shared travel will be seamlessly integrated with public transport, allowing cars to be eliminated from cities.