New CEO for Proterra: Jack Allen appointed. Ryan Popple named executive director
Proterra announced yesterday that the Board of Directors has appointed current Chairman Jack Allen as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Ryan Popple, Proterra’s CEO since 2014 (after having spent two years at Tesla), was named Co-Founder and Executive Director. Proterra began planning for this transition in January and the Board voted earlier this month on […]
Jack Allen joined Proterra in 2017
More than 120 customers for Proterra today
Under Ryan Popple’s leadership, Proterra has grown from a few customers to more than 120 customers in North America. During his tenure, Mr. Popple introduced industry-leading battery technology, a new Catalyst vehicle platform, and heavy-duty charging systems that helped revolutionize the electric transit industry. In 2017, Proterra broke the world record for the longest distance ever traveled by an electric vehicle on a single charge, traveling 1,101 miles. Today, Proterra has sold more than 900 electric transit buses and Proterra’s EV technology has been proven on the road with more than 11 million service miles to date.
Popple also led the introduction of Proterra’s EV platform into adjacent vehicle markets, including electric school buses (as proved by the agreement with Thomas Built Buses for the production of Jouley), coach buses (in partnership with Van Hool) and delivery truck chassis with industry-leading partners.
In his new role, Mr. Popple will focus his attention on Proterra’s innovative and industry-leading technology. He will report directly to Mr. Allen.
Jack Allen, a new chapter for Proterra
“Only six years ago, the idea that transit could completely eliminate its dependency on fossil fuels was revolutionary,” said Ryan Popple. “We proved to the world that transit vehicles could be high-performance, zero-emission electric vehicles, and that the future of the mass transit industry was indeed clean, quiet transportation for all. Now it’s time for Proterra to focus on the next chapter, significantly growing our manufacturing capabilities and the extension of our technology to other vehicle segments. I have worked with Jack for three years on our Board and I know that his leadership and experience is exactly what we need to continue meeting EV demand with a highly efficient manufacturing operation, creating reliable, high quality transit vehicles that exceed the capabilities of legacy diesel fleets.”
“Through Ryan’s leadership, Proterra transformed mass transit and became an industry leader in heavy-duty electric transportation,” said Jack Allen. “I am honored to lead this new chapter for Proterra and committed to delivering the highest quality heavy-duty electric vehicles to our customers and providing Proterra’s innovative technology to other vehicle segments. Through my work on our Board, I am fully aware of the very talented and dedicated team at Proterra and I cannot wait to work with them to help meet the growing demand for our heavy-duty electric vehicles.”
