EVgo Taps Energy Veteran as Financial Architect for Profitability Push

LOS ANGELES, CA – December 11, 2025 – EVgo Inc. (NASDAQ: EVGO), one of the nation’s largest public electric vehicle fast-charging networks, today signaled a strategic shift in its financial leadership, appointing energy sector veteran Keefer Lehner as its next Chief Financial Officer. The move, effective January 12, 2026, is more than a simple C-suite shuffle; it's a calculated decision to install a financial architect with a history of scaling capital-intensive businesses as EVgo stands on the cusp of profitability.

Lehner will succeed Paul Dobson, who is retiring after a pivotal tenure but will remain as an advisor through March 2026 to ensure a seamless transition. This appointment comes as the company emphatically reiterates its 2025 financial guidance, pointing toward a potential breakeven on an Adjusted EBITDA basis by year-end. For investors and industry analysts, the message is clear: the era of growth-at-all-costs is maturing into a disciplined drive for sustainable financial performance.

A New Blueprint for a High-Growth Build-Out

Keefer Lehner arrives at EVgo not from the high-tech corridors of Silicon Valley, but from the demanding and often volatile energy services sector. His nearly two-decade career includes CFO roles at KLX Energy Services and Quintana Energy Services, companies where managing heavy capital deployment, navigating cyclical markets, and driving operational efficiency are paramount to survival and success.

While the EV charging industry is fueled by green-tech optimism, its underlying business model shares fundamental traits with traditional energy infrastructure: it is capital-intensive, requires long-term strategic site planning, and faces intense competition. In tapping Lehner, EVgo CEO Badar Khan is bringing in a leader with a "proven ability to scale businesses and his commitment to advancing our strategic priorities," as noted in the company's announcement. This experience will be instrumental as EVgo executes its "fully financed growth plan" and accelerates its nationwide buildout. Lehner’s track record in a sector where disciplined capital allocation is the difference between boom and bust suggests a focus on maximizing the return on every dollar spent on new charging stalls.

"I am honored to be named EVgo’s next CFO and excited to join this dedicated team," Lehner stated. His emphasis on the company’s "strong financial foundation and clear strategic priorities" points to an agenda focused on execution rather than radical strategic change.

Navigating the Final Mile to Profitability

The timing of Lehner’s appointment is critical. EVgo has spent years investing heavily to build its network of over 1,100 fast charging stations. Now, the financial data suggests an inflection point is near. The company’s most recent quarterly report for Q3 2025 painted a picture of robust health: total revenue climbed 37% year-over-year to $92.3 million, and its adjusted gross margin expanded by 230 basis points to 29%. Critically, its Adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to just $5 million, a significant improvement from the prior year.

This performance underpins the company's confidence in reiterating its full-year 2025 guidance. EVgo projects a baseline Adjusted EBITDA between negative $15 million and negative $8 million, putting it within striking distance of breakeven. However, the guidance includes a significant variable: a potential "Ancillary Upside" of up to $31 million in Adjusted EBITDA from a "potential contract close-out and gain on sale for an existing dedicated fleet site."

This dual-path guidance highlights the challenge and opportunity facing the new CFO. While the core business is steadily marching toward profitability, a large, one-time event could dramatically accelerate that timeline. Managing shareholder expectations around this uncertain windfall while ensuring the core operational improvements continue unabated will be one of Lehner’s first key tests. The market appears cautiously optimistic, with analyst consensus remaining steady, suggesting they are waiting for execution before fully pricing in the potential upside.

From Financial Strategy to Concrete and Steel

Lehner's strategic financial oversight will directly translate into the pace and efficiency of EVgo's physical expansion. The company plans to add between 1,250 and 1,325 new stalls in 2025, with a sharp focus on capital efficiency. Under outgoing CFO Paul Dobson, EVgo made significant strides in this area, reducing the net capital expenditure per stall by an expected 40% compared to 2023 levels, down to approximately $75,000.

This cost discipline is essential in the hyper-competitive charging landscape, where EVgo vies for prime real estate and market share against rivals like Electrify America and ChargePoint. Lehner’s expertise in managing large-scale capital projects will be vital in continuing this trend, ensuring that EVgo can deploy its network faster and more economically.

Furthermore, the federal landscape for EV infrastructure funding is finally clarifying. After a politically induced freeze earlier in the year, the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program is back on track with revised, more flexible guidelines. A CFO adept at navigating complex financing structures, including public-private partnerships, will be a significant asset in capturing these federal dollars to supplement the company’s own capital, which stood at a healthy $201 million in cash at the end of the third quarter.

Ensuring Continuity Through a Critical Transition

While the focus is on the new arrival, the market often judges leadership changes by their smoothness. EVgo appears to have managed this well. Paul Dobson’s brief but impactful tenure, which began in October 2024, was praised by CEO Badar Khan for having "substantially strengthened our balance sheet and set EVgo on a more positive trajectory." During his time, the company secured a novel commercial bank loan facility and drove the operational efficiencies that have put profitability within reach.

Dobson’s decision to stay on in an advisory capacity through the first quarter of 2026 is a crucial signal of stability. It ensures that the strategic initiatives and financial discipline he instilled are not lost in the transition. This planned handover allows Lehner to integrate into the company and build on a solid foundation, rather than having to firefight or reset strategy. For a company at such a pivotal growth stage, this continuity provides a steady hand at the helm, reassuring investors that the path to profitability remains the unwavering primary objective. As the EV market continues its rapid expansion, EVgo's ability to execute this leadership transition smoothly while hitting its aggressive financial and operational targets will be a key determinant of its long-term success.