Lime has sped out to a big lead in the shared electric scooter and bike race thanks in part to the leadership of Christian Navarro. Since joining the company in May 2022 as head of brand marketing, he has helped win market share by positioning Lime’s scooters and bikes as solutions to small problems—like daily commuting headaches—and big ones, such as climate change.

The campaign platform, called “It’s Time to Lime,” began in late 2022 with digital out-of-home placements in Berlin, San Francisco and Washington using copy such as, “If the news gives you climate anxiety, It’s Time to Lime.”

Using an in-house team, Lime recently expanded it, using rider testimonials while playing into local cultures, including an ad in a Paris subway station that stated, “Got the croissant and a french baguette in my Lime basket in Paris. Call me Emily.” Lime also used CGI to depict a carousel of Lime bikes in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

The new marketing comes after Lime in early September reported more than $250 million in gross bookings in the year’s first half, up 45% from the same period in 2022, while announcing adjusted earnings of $27 million before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—the first time it reached positive EBITDA in the first half of a year. The numbers led Verge to declare that “the scooter wars might be over.”

Navarro, who previously held marketing roles at Spotify, SoulCycle and Levi’s, must ensure that Lime’s marketing reaches municipal leaders—a key audience for a brand that relies on local government contracts. “We work really hard every day to make sure that the streets are tidy, that people are parking correctly and making sure that we run these campaigns in a fun and interesting way,” he said.

For example, one ad in London asked people to “park like your grandma’s watching,” he said.

Which entrepreneur do you admire the most and why?

I’ve been really inspired by Marcus and Shawn Milione, the entrepreneurs who founded and run Minted New York. They live at the intersection of running/fitness culture, entrepreneur culture and fashion. I spotted them on TikTok a few years ago and have been loving how they’ve grown their business, how they’ve innovated their product line and everything in between. What drew me to them is that they shared everything—their entire process, from operations to product development to race training and nutrition to the day-in and day-out hustle of being an entrepreneur—all on TikTok. So, when you view their content, you immediately feel like you’re part of their process of building their brand.

What’s currently on your bedside reading list?

I became a new dad this past spring, so you’ll see some parenting books sprinkled in: “Bringing Up Bébé,” by Pamela Druckerman; “Decoded,” by Jay-Z; “Good Inside,” by Becky Kennedy; and “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho.

What is the best career advice you’ve gotten?

One of the best bits of career advice I’ve received came from another guy named Christian, who was a former boss of mine for many years earlier in my career when I was agency-side.

He introduced me to this concept of “pointy elbows.” The idea behind pointy elbows is that in order to become a leader, or at least to start your journey to be a leader, you need to really work at entering every situation with an opinion or a POV or something you know you want to learn or take away from the conversation. Having pointy elbows doesn’t mean being a jerk or dominating a room either. There’s a nuance to it: You need to still come from a place of humbleness and empathy. The process of pointy elbows never ends. It isn’t a personality trait—rather, it’s a practice.

Name one brand, other than the one you work for, that you admire.

One brand that I’ve really loved watching in recent years is New Balance. With cultural juggernauts like Nike out there in their category, I think New Balance has done an amazing job of re-inventing themselves recently. They spent years somewhere at the intersection of great running shoes and the ultimate dad brand—and in many ways, they might still be—but as of late they’ve found super smart ways to reinvigorate themselves, primarily through some incredible collaborations where they act more like a streetwear boutique (see: their collaboration with ALD), and outside of that, really working to infuse the possibility [of] personal style into their line. 

It’ll be really interesting to see how they continue the heritage-ness and technology of the core brand while staying super culturally relevant.

What is your secret weapon for business success?

I want to say it’s niche knowledge or some technical skill or the ability to look at big data and tell a story. All of those, of course, are important. But when I think about it, business success comes from a place that’s a little more human than that: empathy. Understanding of others around you is so crucial to building connections and ultimately being successful. Whether it’s connecting with your team, partners across your business, investors and of course your audience, empathy just leads to better ways of working—and better work.