Spartan Motors has announced a series of actions to enhance the depth and bench strength of its senior leadership team, the company said, while creating a more streamlined reporting structure.
Tom Ninneman has been promoted to COO of Spartan Motors. He most recently served as Spartan’s president of fleet vehicles and services (FVS) for the past year and previously served as the COO of Smeal Fire Apparatus Co., which was acquired in 2017. The presidents of FVS, emergency response (ER), and the specialty chassis and vehicles business segments will report to Ninneman.
“We saw a need to bring greater operational expertise, structure and responsiveness to our senior management team to better prepare us to meet our 2020 goals and the actions we announced today are meant to accomplish that. We are convinced that Tom brings the exact skill set and experience we need to lead our operations, and are proud to name him our COO,” said Daryl Adams, president and CEO.
Spartan Motors also announced that Chad Heminover has been named president of FVS, which includes the Utilimaster and Spartan Upfit Services go-to-market brands. Heminover most recently served as VP of operations and business development of FVS and was previously the business unit president for Taylor Corp.
“Chad is the right person to lead our FVS segment, as he brings an energetic and innovative approach to developing long-term strategic vision while managing the operational details of the day-to-day business,” said Adams. “As we look to enhance the speed of delivery on our 2020 goals, we believe it’s important to empower the next generation of leadership to build on the foundation we’ve set over the past two years. Our ultimate focus remains on profitable growth for Spartan, and we must continue to foster the dynamic leaders, like Chad, who will ultimately drive that growth.”
As a final component of the senior management transition, Spartan announced that John Slawson, president of Spartan ER, has resigned his position to pursue other interests. Ninneman will serve as the interim president of the ER business unit as the company completes its search for a replacement.
