Nikola Motor Company has appointed Jonathan Spira to its executive management team as chief financial officer (CFO). Spira joins Nikola Motor at a time when the company is expanding rapidly and initiating its next round of funding in its plan to bring the first-ever zero emissions long-haul class 8 truck to market.

“Jonathan‘s extensive technology experience and impressive track record of successful financial leadership at rapid-growth technology companies make him an excellent fit for our team,” said Trevor Milton, founder and CEO of Nikola Motor.

A seasoned finance and operations executive, Spira specialises in building dynamic and disruptive technology companies.

“I‘m excited for the opportunity to join Nikola Motor and help drive its expansion into the class 8 truck market,” he said. “Nikola Motor‘s ground breaking technology, together with the strong value its technology will provide to customers, gives the company extraordinary disruptive potential in the heavy-duty truck market.”

Spira has been building and managing companies in the technology and consumer industry for more than 20 years, helping enterprise software, wireless communications, SaaS, and consumer-product companies grow dramatically and profitably, while building significant value for investors.

Most recently, Spira served as CFO at Untangle, Inc., a security software and appliance company, where he led its integration of three acquisitions and successful sale to Providence Equity. He has also served as CFO at the publicly-traded online video advertising firm blinkx plc (LON:RTHM), Web 2.0 software company Kapow Technologies, wireless networking pioneer Packethop, EDA software developer Atrenta, Web-based CRM solution provider ePeople, and publicly-traded enterprise software firm Autonomy Corp. (LON:AU), where he spearheaded a successful IPO.

Spira has also held senior finance and planning positions at Walt Disney Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Nestlé Food Company, and worked as a consultant in Peat Marwick‘s Merger & Acquisition practice. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Kenyon College.