Workhorse Group Inc., a Cincinnati-based provider of electric mobility solutions for the transportation sector, has named a new chief operating officer (COO), Robert Willison, formerly Workhorse’s director of research and development.
Willison returns to Workhorse after serving as director of fleet technology at Sysco Corp., where he managed the coordination, design and project management of Sysco’s electric vehicle (EV) initiative. In his former position as director of R&D at Workhorse, Willison was responsible for various EV programs. The majority of his work has centered on the commercialization of prototypes to production vehicles.
Prior to his time at Workhorse, Willison was partner and chief technology officer of Ray Technology, and before that, he was director of international operations and new business development at PDi Communication Systems. Willison also previously held senior management positions at Hughes Aircraft and Texas Instruments.
Willison’s appointment follows the recently announced promotion of Duane Hughes to CEO. Hughes had previously served as Workhorse’s president and COO.
“Having served as Rob’s predecessor, I am acutely aware of the demands of the COO position, as well as Workhorse’s needs for the role going forward,” says Hughes. “Having also worked closely with Rob in the past, I am convinced of his ability to get that job done. He possesses a unique blend of technical capabilities, people skills and leadership experience, all of which will serve him well in this position.
“As our company continues its transition from development phase into large-scale production, Rob and his team will be focused on our core business in last-mile delivery,” Hughes continues. “More specifically, Rob’s main directive, and the chief emphasis of our company for the foreseeable future, is the manufacturing and delivery of NGEN electric delivery trucks profitably to fulfill the sizeable number of purchase orders currently making up our backlog.”