- Stuart Simpson, Vertical Aerospace’s CFO and seasoned FTSE100 government,
appointed to CEO as firm strikes to pivotal part of certifying its VX4 plane and
commercialisation. - Founder and present CEO, Stephen Fitzpatrick, continues his function as Board member,
targeted on enterprise technique and delivering on the corporate’s imaginative and prescient. - Ben Story, who brings 30 years of fundraising, enterprise technique and management
expertise from roles at Rolls-Royce, Citi and Transport for London, appointed to
Vertical’s Board.
Vertical Aerospace Ltd. (“Vertical” or the “Firm”) (NYSE: EVTL; EVTLW), a worldwide aerospace and expertise firm that’s pioneering zero emission aviation, has made a number of management appointments as the corporate strikes in direction of a pivotal part of certifying its VX4 plane and commercialisation.
Stuart Simpson, Vertical’s CFO and seasoned FTSE100 government with a profession which spans 30 years and contains management roles throughout the expertise, automotive and logistics sectors, has been appointed to CEO, efficient instantly. He will probably be liable for main the execution of the corporate’s technique because it progresses in direction of certification of the VX4 plane, bringing it to market, and launching additional fundraising exercise.
Founder and present CEO, Stephen Fitzpatrick, who lately dedicated extra capital to the corporate, will proceed to play a distinguished function in Vertical as a Board member, targeted on enterprise technique and dealing with the manager workforce to ship on the corporate’s imaginative and prescient.
Stuart joined Vertical Aerospace in 2023 from Avast, a FTSE100 world chief in digital safety and privateness, the place he was Group CFO and a member of the management workforce that was liable for the corporate’s $9 billion merger with NortonLifeLock in 2021.
Previous to that, Stuart held the roles of Interim Chief Govt Officer, Chief Monetary Officer and Chief Working Officer at Royal Mail Group, overseeing the Group’s return to the FTSE100 throughout his tenure. Concurrently, he was a Board member at GLS Group, a worldwide, expertise led, parcel service supplier.
Stuart additionally has intensive automotive business expertise within the UK and internationally, having held a number of Director roles at Common Motors globally and senior positions at Rolls Royce and Bentley Motor Automobile Firm. The method for appointing a brand new CFO is underway, with Stuart persevering with to supervise the corporate’s monetary operate within the interim.
As well as, Vertical has strengthened its Board with the appointment of Ben Story, a former Director and Govt Staff member at Rolls-Royce, Board member at Transport for London and Managing Director at Citi. Ben brings 30 years of expertise on the highest stage of commercial expertise, vitality, transportation, and world finance and can carry invaluable expertise to the corporate alongside its path to commercialisation.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder and Board Member, Vertical Aerospace, mentioned:
“I’m immensely happy with all that the workforce has achieved over the previous 4 years as Vertical leads the world into a brand new period of electrical flight and turns into a British engineering success story. Vertical is now prepared to maneuver into an extremely necessary part of improvement as we start testing our extra superior, piloted, full-scale prototype, progress in direction of certification and are making ready for industrialisation.
Stuart’s intensive management expertise in excessive development expertise primarily based firms make him extremely effectively certified to steer the corporate into this subsequent part and I do know he shares my ardour to carry the advantages of electrical aviation to the world. I stay up for seeing what Vertical goes to attain underneath his management.”
Stuart Simpson, CEO, Vertical Aerospace, mentioned:
“It’s been phenomenal to expertise the progress the enterprise has made since I joined, and I couldn’t be extra excited to maneuver into this function. I share Stephen’s confidence that our skilled workforce, expertise, and compelling enterprise mannequin of working with main business companions place us very effectively to efficiently develop some of the superior electrical plane on the earth.
I stay up for working with our formidable workforce in progressing our path to certification, bringing in extra funding and taking the VX4 to market.”
The modifications come as the ultimate meeting of the brand new era full-scale VX4 prototype nears completion, with the plane on observe to start a sturdy check flight programme forward of supposed public demonstrations at Farnborough Worldwide Airshow and Heathrow Airport later in 2024. This prototype options subsequent era propellers, will use Vertical’s proprietary battery expertise for the primary time, and incorporates rather more of the corporate’s main aerospace companions’ expertise. ”
Mike Flewitt, Chairman of Vertical, mentioned:
“Vertical is shifting into a extremely thrilling part of its company evolution, and Stuart and Ben are each unbelievable appointments to take the enterprise by means of it. Each have vital strategic and fundraising expertise and of their new roles, they’ll strengthen what’s already a really sturdy workforce with many years of expertise in certifying and bringing new plane to market. I stay up for working alongside each and Stephen as we create a brand new chapter in journey.”
Ben Story, Board Member of Vertical, mentioned
“I’ve been following the thrilling progress Vertical has been making on this nascent sector, and the gifted workforce has achieved a lot in a comparatively brief period of time. I stay up for enjoying my half in taking the enterprise into this subsequent thrilling part and bringing the VX4 to market.”