Vertical Aerospace Strengthens Leadership Team with Powertrain, Data and People Appointments
- Three leadership hires to strengthen Vertical's preparation for manufacturing and commercial operations
- Juan Carlos Sacristan appointed Chief Data & Information Officer to accelerate digital, data and AI capabilities
- Richard Moore confirmed as Vice President, Powertrain, strengthening propulsion and energy system integration
- Ollie Roberts appointed Chief People Officer to lead people strategy and organisational scale-up
Vertical Aerospace ("Vertical" or the "Company") (NYSE:EVTL), a global aerospace and technology company pioneering electric aviation, today announced the appointments of Ollie Roberts as Chief People Officer (CPO), Juan Carlos Sacristan as Chief Data & Information Officer (CDIO), and Richard Moore as Vice President, Powertrain.
Together, these appointments further strengthen Vertical's leadership team as the Company enters the next phase of growth, certification and commercial readiness.
Chief Data & Information Officer
As CDIO, Juan Carlos ("JC") Sacristan will lead Vertical's long-term data, digital and AI strategy, connecting information across design, procurement, testing, production and manufacturing. His remit includes building the digital backbone, advanced simulation and analysis required to enable Vertical to scale efficiently into service.
JC brings more than 20 years of experience driving business growth through complex technology transformations and data and AI led strategies.
He has held senior leadership roles at global organisations including CDIO at Abcam, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Adidas, Digital Global Lead at Nike and CIO at GE Gas Engines, alongside board advisory roles and experience founding and scaling start-ups.
Vice President, Powertrain
Vertical also confirmed that Richard Moore has been appointed Vice President, Powertrain. Richard leads a focused Powertrain engineering organisation spanning energy storage, battery management systems, electric propulsion units and charging, further strengthening integration across these mission-critical systems as Vertical advances toward certification.
An aeronautics engineer, Richard is an experienced global battery expert with more than 35 years of experience in the industry. Previously a board member and Director of Propulsion and Executive Director Engineering at Lotus, he led the engineering of all sports cars, including the Evija electric hypercar. He was also Chief Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, where he led the electrification engineering for propulsion systems across all Jaguar and Land Rover product programmes, including the Jaguar I-Pace, the company's first all-electric vehicle.
Chief People Officer
As CPO, Ollie Roberts will lead all aspects of Vertical's people strategy, including talent attraction and development, culture development, colleague engagement, organisational design and capability building - delivering a diverse, high-performing and future-ready organisation as Vertical advances toward certification and commercial operations.
Ollie is a seasoned C-suite executive with more than 25 years' experience leading human resources, organisational design and large-scale transformation programmes across multiple industries. Most recently, Ollie served as Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Transformation Officer at BMI Group, where he led a wide-ranging organisational and cultural transformation that strengthened business performance and delivery. Ollie has also held global leadership roles at AB InBev, SAB Miller and global real estate leader DTZ.
Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace, said:
"Vertical has reached an important inflection point. As we move at pace toward certification, manufacturing and commercialisation, strengthening leadership across technology, core engineering disciplines and people positions us to scale effectively and deliver on our long-term ambitions. I'm delighted to kick off this transformational year with these top tier appointments."
About Vertical Aerospace
Vertical Aerospace is a global aerospace and technology company pioneering electric aviation. Vertical is creating a safer, cleaner, and quieter way to travel. Valo is a piloted, four-passenger, Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with zero operating emissions. Vertical is also developing a hybrid-electric variant, offering increased range and mission flexibility to meet the evolving needs of the advanced air mobility market.
Vertical combines partnerships with leading aerospace companies, including Honeywell, Syensqo and Aciturri, with its own proprietary battery and propeller technology to develop the world's most advanced and safest eVTOL.
Vertical has c.1,500 pre-orders of Valo, with customers across four continents, including American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow, GOL and Japan Airlines. Certain customer obligations are expected to be fulfilled via third-party agreements. Headquartered in Bristol, UK, Vertical's experienced leadership team comes from top-tier aerospace and automotive companies such as Rolls-Royce, Airbus, GM, and Leonardo. Together, they have previously certified and supported over 30 different civil and military aircraft and propulsion systems
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that relate to our current expectations and views of future events. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements as contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Any express or implied statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding recent leadership appointments and changes and their impact on Vertical and its programme development, capabilities and certification efforts, as well as statements that include the words "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "forecast," "estimate," "may," "should," "anticipate," "will," "aim," "potential," "continue," "are likely to" and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature. Forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including, without limitation, the other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 11, 2025, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than to the extent required by applicable law.
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Justin Bates, Head of Communications [email protected] +44 7878 357 463
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