Lion Electric Names Francois Duquette as Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
MONTREAL, April 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Lion Electric (Lion), a leading manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles, announced today that François Duquette has been named Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, effective April 12, 2021. In this newly created role, Mr. Duquette will oversee all aspects of legal and regulatory affairs, as well as provide strategic counsel to the senior management team and board of directors. He will report to Marc Bédard, Founder and CEO.
"It is my pleasure to welcome François to our executive management team," said Marc Bédard. "With over 20 years of international business experience, François' expertise will be important in providing ongoing strategic advice and legal counsel to our team, as we are about to start a new chapter of our history as a public company. I look forward to his valuable contribution and insight as we continue to execute our plan of long-term, sustainable growth," said Marc Bédard.
Mr. Duquette was most recently Managing Director, Global Private Equity at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec ("CDPQ"), which he joined in 2015 as Vice-President, Legal Affairs, Investment. In his recent role, he co-led CDPQ's private equity direct investment strategy outside of Quebec, primarily in Europe and Asia Pacific. Mr. Duquette also co-chaired CDPQ's International Private Equity and Technology Investment Committees. Before joining CDPQ, he was a Partner at Allen & Overy LLP, an international law firm, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions. During his years with the firm, he worked in their Toronto, Abu Dhabi and Casablanca offices. Prior to Allen & Overy, Mr Duquette practiced in Paris and Abu Dhabi with international law firm Simmons & Simmons LLP.
Mr. Duquette holds a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) and a Juris Doctor (JD) from McGill University. He is a member of the Barreau du Québec and a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
About Lion Electric
Lion Electric is an innovative manufacturer of zero-emission vehicles. The company creates, designs and manufactures all-electric class 5 to class 8 commercial urban trucks and all-electric buses and minibuses for the school, paratransit and mass transit segments. Lion is a North American leader in electric transportation and designs, builds and assembles all its vehicles' components, including chassis, battery packs, truck cabins and bus bodies.
Always actively seeking new and reliable technologies, Lion vehicles have unique features that are specifically adapted to its users and their everyday needs. Lion believes that transitioning to all-electric vehicles will lead to major improvements in our society, environment and overall quality of life.
Transaction with Northern Genesis
On November 30, 2020, Lion announced that it had entered into a business combination agreement and plan of reorganization pursuant to which, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lion will merge with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: NGA), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company focused on a commitment to sustainability and strong alignment with environmental, social and governance principles. Upon completion of the transaction, Lion is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the new ticker symbol "LEV".
Lion Electric, The Bright Move
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" (which shall include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws) within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "may," "will," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "could," "plan," "potential," "future," "target" or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Lion's management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of assisting readers in understanding certain key elements of Lion's current objectives, goals, targets, strategic priorities, expectations and plans, and in obtaining a better understanding of Lion's business and anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes and is not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on, by any investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Lion, and are based on a number of assumptions, as well as other factors that Lion believes are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct or that Lion's vision, business, objectives, plans and strategies will be achieved. Many risks and uncertainties could cause Lion's actual results, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Lion's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Lion anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Lion's assessments to change. However, while Lion may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Lion has no intention and undertakes no obligation to do so, except as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Lion's assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Lion's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The complete version of the cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements as well as a description of the relevant assumptions and risk factors likely to affect Lion's actual results, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements are included in the registration statement on Form F-4 filed by Lion under its profile on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
SOURCE The Lion Electric Co.
