Pasadena-based zero-emission vehicle industry consortium Calstart has tapped former auto industry executive Michael Berube as its next chief executive. He will take the reins in November from longtime chief John Boesel, who announced in September that he was retiring after 24 years at the helm.

Calstart was founded in 1992 by a group of some 40 member companies and organizations, with a mission is to serve as a catalyst for the clean transportation industry. It now has 213 members.

An MIT-trained transportation and civil engineer by background, Berube served two decades in senior roles at Fiat Chrysler and Daimler-Chrysler. Chrysler is now part of Hoofddorp, Netherlands-based Stellantis. At Chrysler, he led product strategy and the efforts to bring new low-emissions technologies to market. Berube then moved to the public sector, serving for a decade as a senior official for sustainable transportation at the U.S. Department of Energy. There, he helped create the Federal Consortium on Advanced Batteries.

‘Equipped to lead’

Berube was chosen as Calstart’s next chief executive less than four weeks after Boesel announced his retirement.

“He is superbly equipped to lead the organization during a critical time of transformation in the clean transportation sector,” Cynthia Williams, Calstart’s board chair, said in the announcement. “His outstanding candidacy spoke to the need for broad and battle-tested experience in the transportation and automotive industries.”