Proterra has announced that Amy Ard has joined the management team as chief financial officer. With more than twenty years of experience in finance and various manufacturing industries, Ard brings a rare combination of expertise leading both large public companies and private companies through significant stages of growth. At Proterra, she will support the company’s next level of expansion by aligning corporate finance with all aspects of the business, from engineering and manufacturing to sales and marketing and operations.
Ard’s experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) defined her career and passion for manufacturing early on. Before joining Proterra, Ard was CFO at AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group (AMG). During her tenure as CFO, net debt was driven down by over $200 million and AMG’s share price improved by over 30 percent, despite a significant downturn in the commodity sector. Ard also took AMG through a $275 million IPO, refinanced a $320 million debt facility, led the integration of two key acquisitions with purchase prices in excess of $25 million and implemented a global cash and risk management system. Over the course of her career, Ard has accrued multifaceted corporate finance experience and has proven her unique ability to build talented teams, create operational excellence, and manage cash flows for capital-intensive projects, while accurately forecasting quarterly financial earnings.
“With impressive year-over-year growth, Proterra has reached a critical point in the transit market. I’m very excited to join at this time, and help the company achieve its vision of a 100 percent clean transit future for all,” said Ard. “I look forward to working with such a diverse and dynamic team, as we venture to bring affordable, zero-emission buses to North America’s masses.”
On the heels of an oversubscribed $140 million Series 5 funding round in January, exceptional sales growth in the 1H2017 with Seattle’s King County Metro committing to a 100 percent zero-emission fleet by 2030, and national expansion, Ard joins Proterra at a time of rapid growth. In 2016 alone, Proterra more than double sales growth, and the company has increased its workforce across its three facilities by more than 50 percent in Greenville, S.C., as well as Burlingame and City of Industry, Calif.
“We are honored to have such a seasoned corporate finance leader join the Proterra management team,” said Proterra CEO Ryan Popple. “Having successfully navigated the complexities of limited supply chains, volatile commodity pricing and the public markets, I’m confident Amy will be a major asset to Proterra.”
