Vancouver-based Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (TSX: WPRT) (Nasdaq: WPRT) has tapped a new CEO.
Dan Sceli assumed the role with immediate effect, according to a Tuesday press release.
Taking over from interim CEO Tony Guglielmin, Sceli will also be a member of the company’s board of directors.
Prior to joining Westport, Sceli was the CEO and a board member of Cadillac Products Automotive Company and spent 12 years as CEO at Peterson American Corporation.
Westport Fuel Systems is a global supplier of fuel delivery components and systems for clean, low-carbon fuels such as natural gas, renewable natural gas, propane and hydrogen to the transportation industry.
“Our focus on innovation while maintaining financial prudence aims to unlock opportunities and deliver strong returns as we continue to accelerate decarbonization by providing our customers with sustainable and affordable transportation solutions that address the global climate crisis,” Sceli said in a statement.
Westport chairman Dan Hancock described the new CEO as an entrepreneurial leader.
"His experience building strategy and driving change and transformation in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, along with his insight into the global OEM [original equipment manufacturer] market position him as the optimal candidate to lead Westport's next stage of growth,” he said in a statement.
The company has faced a revolving door of top leaders in recent years.
Guglielmin became interim CEO after David Johnson stepped down from the top job and resigned from the board last August.
Prior to that, the firm reached a settlement in 2019 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which claimed the company engaged in bribery of a Chinese government official.
Westport and its former chief executive officer Nancy Gougarty made no admission or denial of the commission’s findings under the settlement; however, the company agreed to pay a total fine of $4,046,000 and Gougarty agreed to pay a $120,000 fine for their involvement in the bribery scheme.
She resigned in early 2019 with no mention from the company of the SEC investigation.
—With files from Graeme Wood, Glacier Media
