Q&A
Navistar & IC Bus Leaders Discuss Brand, Personal Evolution
From left: Justina Morosin is now the VP and GM of IC Bus, taking the reins from Trish Reed, who now leads the zero-emission transition for parent company Navistar.
T
he end of 2022 saw significant leadership changes at North America’s largest bus brand. But with those moves come much continui- ty. Trish Reed, who was the general manager
of IC Bus, is now the vice president of zero emissions for Navistar, IC’s parent company. Meanwhile, Justina Morosin returns to IC Bus, where she was VP of sales from 2014-2017, as the brand’s new leader. If anyone knows the IC Bus and the larger Navistar portfolio, it’s Reed and Morosin, who combined have nearly 50 years of employ- ment at the Lisle, Illinois, manufacturer. While Reed draws upon her experience overseeing the
IC Bus CE Electric launch to shape the zero-emissions future of the company’s ecosystem alongisde partner TRATON, Morosin rejoins the school bus team after spending the past two years as vice president of trans- formation for Navistar—a time which was transformative not only professionally but personally, as she was diag- nosed with early-stage breast cancer (she’s in remission). School Transportation News sat down with both wom-
en to recount their individual transitions, learn more about the future of IC Bus and electrification efforts, and discuss how the company is responding to a bevy of current economic pressures.
STN: How did the move from GM of IC Bus to heading electrification for all of Navistar transpire?
Reed: It was a natural transition for me to move from general manager of IC Bus to leading zero emissions. The school bus market is at the forefront of electrifi- cation in the U.S. and Canada and is leading the way for other types of commercial vehicles to follow in its footsteps. The IC Bus team spent a significant amount of time in the electrification space and accumulated
36 School Transportation News • APRIL 2023
critical knowledge that can easily translate to support the electrification of Class 3-8 commercial fleets used for different applications, but with similar duty cycles. As the industry thought leader, we are committed to
not only educating customers about the vehicle itself but also to help simplify a complex process into a seamless experience for school districts transitioning to electric. The benefits are two-fold: The buses are cleaner and quieter, and the savings that come from having less maintenance costs can be shared back into the commu- nity and schools. While I love the school bus industry and have yellow
pumping through my veins, I became enthusiastic about electrification overall and wanted to ensure that we are setting up the right organizational structure to support all our customers in their transition to EVs. To this end, we created a customer-centric approach to fleet electrification. It is a hands-on methodology that starts by assessing the customer needs to determine the scope of the project. This is key to developing a cus- tomized plan to mitigate surprises along the way. We work hand-in-hand with utilities and other partners to oversee the installation of EV chargers by managing the overall deployment. We do all the heavy lifting so our customers can stay focused on their core business.
STN: How will the electrification teamwork alongside
TRATON translate to further development of electric school bus models?
Reed: I’d like to stress that in the next few years, while
product is important, our mission focuses on supporting our customers through the initial learning curve of elec- tric vehicle adoption. That involves a proper assessment of customer needs, charging and deployment. As part
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
