Vertical Aerospace is rebooting its leadership team with CFO Stuart Simpson appointed as the eVTOL aircraft developer’s CEO. He takes over from founder and CEO Stephen Fitzpatrick, who remains a board member after recently committing additional capital to support the UK company’s efforts to bring its four-passenger VX4 vehicle to market in 2026.
This week, the company also announced that it has appointed former Rolls-Royce executive Ben Story to its board, where he will contribute fundraising and business strategy experience. He is the managing director of the banking group Citi and a board member of Transport for London.
Simpson joined Bristol-based Vertical last year from digital security group Avast, where he was group CFO. He has also held senior leadership positions with Royal Mail Group, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley Motor Car Company. Vertical plans to appoint a new CFO in due course.
In March, Vertical reported that it has almost completed assembly of its second VX4 prototype as it prepares to resume flight testing ahead of planned public demonstrations later at London’s Heathrow Airport and during the Farnborough International Airshow in July. At the same time, Fitzpatrick, whose main business is the Ovo energy group, invested a further $25 million in the company and is committed to matching this amount again on July 31.
AAIB Releases Final Report on VX4 Crash
This week, the UK’s Air Accident Investigation Branch published its report into the crash of the first VX4 prototype during flight testing last August. Vertical said it welcomed the report, which concurred with the company in stating that the primary cause had been a failure of adhesive bonding in a propeller blade. The company is now using a redesigned propeller from a different supplier.