Workhorse Group Announces Executive Leadership Appointments
September 30 2021 - 8:30AM
Workhorse Group Inc. (Nasdaq:
WKHS) (“Workhorse” or
“the Company”), an American technology company focused on
providing sustainable and cost-effective drone-integrated electric
vehicles to the last-mile delivery sector, today announced
executive leadership appointments to support its go-forward
operating and commercial plans.
“Building an experienced leadership team with deep expertise is
of paramount importance as we execute on our plans to transition
from an advanced technology start-up to an efficient manufacturing
company,” said Workhorse CEO Rick Dauch. “I am excited to work
closely with these proven industry leaders in their new positions.
Each will play a critical role in driving our ongoing review of the
business, developing our go-forward plans and enabling us to become
a leading manufacturer of electric-powered last-mile delivery
vehicles.”
The leadership changes announced today include:
- Greg Ackerson, Workhorse’s Corporate Controller, has been
appointed interim Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately,
and will report to Mr. Dauch. He succeeds Steve Schrader, who has
left the Company. Mr. Schrader’s departure is not based on any
disagreement with the Company's accounting principles or practices
or financial statement disclosures. The Company has retained a
leading executive search firm and is conducting a search for a
permanent successor, which will include external and internal
candidates.
- Jim Harrington, who formerly served as Senior Vice President,
General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer at Delphi
Technologies, has been appointed as the Company’s Chief
Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Secretary, effective
August 16, 2021, and reports to Mr. Dauch.
- Josh Anderson, who most recently served in several capacities
including as Founder and President of Leiten, President of
RexRover, and President of DESCH Systems, has been appointed Chief
Technology Officer, a newly created role responsible for managing
and overseeing the development and implementation of Workhorse’s
advanced technology into its products, effective September 21,
2021, and reports to Mr. Dauch.
- Jim Peters, formerly Executive Director of Procurement and
Supplier Quality Worldwide Operations-Powertrain at American Axle
& Manufacturing, has been named Vice President, Purchasing and
Supply Chain, effective September 1, 2021, and reports to Mr.
Dauch.
- Dave Bjerke, former President of Triad Services Group, has been
appointed Vice President, Product Development, effective September
27, 2021, and reports to Ryan Gaul, President of Commercial
Vehicles.
- Rob Willison, Chief Operating Officer, has left the Company,
effective immediately. The Company is eliminating the role of Chief
Operating Officer.
Mr. Dauch added, “We are fortunate to benefit from Greg’s
leadership and financial acumen to ensure a seamless transition as
we conduct a comprehensive search to identify our next CFO. On
behalf of the entire Workhorse team, we thank Steve and Rob for
their dedication and contributions to our company and we wish them
the best.”
About Greg Ackerson Prior to joining Workhorse,
Mr. Ackerson was an Assurance Senior Manager with BDO USA LLP from
December 2015 through March 2018. He has also served in finance and
audit roles at publicly traded companies, including as Senior
Manager Technical Accounting for NewPage Corporation from 2011
through 2015 and as Finance Manager at the J.M. Smucker Company
from 2008 to 2009. Mr. Ackerson has also served as an Inspection
Specialist for the PCAOB and various progressive audit roles with
PwC. Mr. Ackerson received his Master of Science in accounting and
Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of
Cincinnati.
About Jim Harrington Mr. Harrington most
recently served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel,
Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer at Delphi Technologies from
2017 to 2020 and held various roles within the legal department at
Tenneco including Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary
and Chief Compliance Officer from 2009 to 2017. Mr. Harrington
received a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from
Notre Dame, a Master of Business Administration from the University
of Chicago and a Law Degree from Northwestern University. He is
also a Certified Public Accountant.
About Josh Anderson Mr. Anderson most recently
served in several capacities including as Founder and President of
Leiten beginning in 2019, a startup next-generation electric
vehicle developer targeted at the medium duty chassis market,
President of RexRover beginning in 2020, a final stage manufacturer
and upfitter of work trucks and equipment, and President of DESCH
Systems beginning in 2013, a design services firm focused on medium
and heavy-duty truck and bus development and electrification. Prior
to these roles, Mr. Anderson served as Executive Vice President of
Engineering and Director of Research and Development at DesignLine
Corporation from 2009 to 2013 and served in various capacities at
Transportation Techniques between 1999 and 2008, including as Chief
Technology Officer and Vice President of Vehicle Development. Mr.
Anderson received his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering
from Harvey Mudd College. He is also the co-inventor on eleven
patents issued, including ten for electric vehicle and hybrid
powertrain and controls for ground vehicles.
About Jim Peters Mr. Peters most recently
served at American Axle & Manufacturing from 2000 to 2019 in a
number of positions of increasing responsibility including
Executive Director of Procurement and Supplier Quality Worldwide
Operations-Powertrain. From 1984 to 2000, he held various at
Chrysler in the areas of manufacturing, purchasing, quality and
supply chain operations. Mr. Peters received his Bachelor of Arts
in business administration from Michigan State University.
About Dave BjerkeSince 1986, Mr. Bjerke served
at Triad Services Group, a design engineering services company for
automotive and military vehicles and related systems, in numerous
roles of increasing responsibility, including most recently as
President, Chief Engineer and Program Manager, where he led the
development and production of purpose-built tactical vehicles for
use by select United States government entities including special
operations units, and oversaw vehicle design, engineering
development, validation, certification and manufacturing. Mr.
Bjerke received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical
engineering and a Master of Business Administration from the
University of Cincinnati.
About Workhorse Group Inc.Workhorse is a
technology company focused on providing drone-integrated electric
vehicles to the last-mile delivery sector. As an American original
equipment manufacturer, we are focused on designing and building
high performance, battery-electric vehicles including trucks and
aircraft. Workhorse also develops cloud-based, real-time telematics
performance monitoring systems that are fully integrated with our
vehicles and enable fleet operators to optimize energy and route
efficiency. All Workhorse vehicles are designed to make the
movement of people and goods more efficient and less harmful to the
environment. For additional information visit workhorse.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release
includes forward-looking statements. These statements are made
under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified
by words such as “plan,” “ongoing,” “building,” “will”, or the
negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology.
Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical
facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
include, but are not limited to: our ability to successfully
complete the additional testing and implement required
modifications to vehicles to achieve FMVSS certification with
respect to the C-1000s; the results of our ongoing review of the
Company’s business and go-forward operating and commercial plans;
our ability to capitalize on opportunities to deliver products to
meet customer requirements; our limited operations and need to
expand to fulfill product orders; risks associated with obtaining
orders and executing upon such orders; the ability to protect our
intellectual property; negative impacts stemming from the
continuing COVID-19 pandemic; the potential lack of market
acceptance of our products; potential competition; our inability to
retain key members of our management team; our inability to raise
additional capital to fund our operations and business plan; our
inability to satisfy covenants in our financing agreements; our
inability to maintain our listing of our securities on the Nasdaq
Capital Market; our inability to satisfy our customer warranty
claims; the outcome of any regulatory proceedings; our liquidity
and other risks and uncertainties and other factors discussed from
time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"), including our annual report on Form 10-K filed
with the SEC. Workhorse expressly disclaims any obligation to
publicly update any forward-looking statements contained herein,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as required by law.
Media Contact:Aaron Palash / Greg KlassenJoele
Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher212-355-4449
Investor Relations Contact:Matt Glover and Tom
ColtonGateway Investor Relations949-574-3860WKHS@gatewayir.com
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