PHOENIX, Ariz. — Nikola Corp. has announced the addition of two industry veterans to its executive team.

Pablo Koziner will lead Nikola’s hydrogen fueling and battery charging business as president of Nikola Energy, the company said Wednesday. Koziner previously worked at Caterpillar, where he held various key roles.

Meanwhile, Mark Duchesne has joined the Nikola team as global head of manufacturing. He previously worked for Toyota and Tesla.

The company said the appointments come at a critical time as Nikola accelerates toward the production launch of its Class 8 Nikola Tre BEV in Germany, and breaks ground on its Arizona manufacturing facility.

“The addition of Pablo Koziner and Mark Duchesne to the Nikola executive team advances our ability to execute against ambitious manufacturing and infrastructure plans,” said CEO Mark Russell.

“We have commenced strategic infrastructure and manufacturing work at locations across the globe, and with Pablo and Mark in place we have the additional leadership to execute with even greater focus and discipline.”