Blue Bird Corporation (Nasdaq: BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, today announced the appointment of Jim Nelles as senior vice president, Global Supply Chain Management, with immediate effect.

In his current role, Nelles is responsible for optimizing Blue Bird’s global supply chain, ensuring best-in-class cost, quality, and throughput, and forging long-term strategic partnerships to secure critical components.

Nelles has over 20 years of international leadership experience in supply chain management and operations. Most recently, he advised Fortune 500 industrial companies on procurement, supply chain, distribution, due diligence, and negotiations. Before then, Nelles served as Director of Supply Chain for private equity company American Securities from 2015 – 2019. Leading up to his role at American Securities, he held executive leadership positions at SteelSeries, LG Electronics, Roland Berger, and McKinsey & Company among others.

“Jim is a strategic, creative, and results-driven global supply chain leader,” said Matthew Stevenson, president and CEO, Blue Bird Corporation. “The COVID-19 pandemic, now in its third year, the semiconductor shortage, general labor availability, inflation, and now the war in Ukraine have put considerable strain on the global economy and supporting supply chains. Jim will be instrumental in building a robust supplier network which safeguards a stable, high-quality production environment for Blue Bird, our customers, and our dealers.”

Nelles holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor's degree in Economics and French from the same university.

About Blue Bird Corporation

Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. Blue Bird buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – the majority of 25 million children twice a day – making us the most trusted brand in the industry. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses in operation today. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird's complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com. For Blue Bird's line of emission-free electric buses, visit www.bluebirdelectricbus.com.