A photo of the Nikola Two truck, one of the products by electric-truck startup Nikola, which announced a significantly scaled-back preliminary agreement with General Motors
A photo of the Nikola Two truck, one of the products by electric-truck startup Nikola, which announced a significantly scaled-back preliminary agreement with General Motors Nikola Motor / -

Electric truck maker Nikola (NKLA) has announced that CEO and president Mark Russell will retire effective Jan. 1 after serving the company since 2019.

Replacing Russell is current Nikola President Michael Lohscheller, who will join the automaker's board immediately and become CEO upon Russell's retirement.

Russell will remain a member of Nikola's board after he retires.

Lohscheller has been with Nikola since February, when he was appointed president of the company, coming from his position as CEO of Opel – an electrified car brand.

Steve Girsky, Nikola's Chairman of the Board, said in a statement about Lohscheller's appointment, "With more than 20 years in the automotive industry, Michael has deep experience as a seasoned executive and as a highly knowledgeable business operator.

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Nikola credited Lohscheller with series production of its BEVs, advancing the company's FCEV pilot testing with select customers, and increasing its strategic partner network, in addition to expanding its strategic partner network and growing its hydrogen infrastructure capabilities.

"In his six months since joining our company, Michael has continued to bring an increased sense of urgency, high level of accountability, improved lines of communication and accelerated decision-making to Nikola Motor. We believe that same standard of excellence and operational and commercial expertise will benefit the company's vehicle and energy infrastructure vision," Girsky said.

Lohscheller's experience in the global automotive industry includes holding a number of "high-ranking" positions, including executive vice president and chief financial officer at Mitsubishi Motors Europe and executive vice president and chief financial officer at Volkswagen Group of America. He also held positions at PSA Group and VinFast.

In 2019, he was given the Eurostar, Manbest, and Manager of the Year awards. He is also a graduate of Osnabrück University in Germany and the University of Barcelona in Spain. He also has a master's in European marketing management from Brunel University London.