Velodyne Lidar, Inc., the leading lidar company, known worldwide for its broad portfolio of breakthrough lidar technologies, today announced that its Board of Directors appointed Michael Dee as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Dee has been a member of the Board since Velodyne’s debut as a public company. His appointment follows the decision of Dr. Joseph B. Culkin to step down as Chairman of the Board due to health reasons. Dr. Culkin will remain an active director of the Board. The Company also announced that Kristin Slanina has been appointed to the Board. Ms. Slanina has been an advisor to the Board and is the Managing Director of Charge Across America. She brings with her more than 30 years of experience as an automotive engineer, mobility consultant and senior executive to Velodyne. In conjunction with Ms. Slanina’s appointment, Deborah Hersman has stepped down from the Board. These changes are all effective immediately.
“It has been an incredible honor to Chair Velodyne during such an exciting part of its evolution to expand our leadership position while delivering significant progress on the Company’s growth plans,” said Dr. Culkin. “After co-founding Velodyne’s predecessor company, Velodyne Acoustics, and being involved since the beginning of Velodyne, I am proud of how far we have come and I will continue to offer my expertise and knowledge as a Director. While I believe that it is the right decision to step aside as Chairman due to my health, I was honored to nominate Michael to replace me and am pleased that he is stepping up into the role. Michael has been a valiant steward of Velodyne and its shareholders even prior to our launch as a public company and I have full confidence in his leadership going forward as Velodyne continues to consolidate our role as the leading lidar provider.”
Dr. Culkin continued, “As Velodyne continues as an industry leader, I believe that Kristin, with her strong engineering, mobility and automotive experience, is an excellent addition to the Board. On behalf of the full Board, I am deeply appreciative to Debbie for her dedication and vast contributions to Velodyne and wish her all the best moving forward.”
“As Velodyne continues to meet the expanding demand for our products and solutions, I warmly thank Dr. Brad Culkin and the Board for placing their confidence in me as Chairman,” said Mr. Dee. “Brad has been vigilant in ensuring Velodyne accelerates its position in technology and innovation and I look forward to assisting the Company in building on our breadth of product portfolio and scalable manufacturing capability. In 2020, using our proven technology, we manufactured and shipped almost 12,000 lidar units with revenues of over $95 million while most of our competitors have minimal revenues and no manufacturing at scale. I believe we have the ability to realize the many compelling opportunities ahead.”
Mr. Dee added, “On behalf of all of us at Velodyne I want to thank former CEO Anand Gopalan for his leadership over the last 18 months. I also welcome Kristin Slanina, an incredibly talented transportation sector leader, full of energy and optimism, who brings decades of relevant experience in the automotive and mobility industry, as well as an innovative mindset, to the Velodyne Board.”
“Having worked with and known the Velodyne team for some time, I am excited to join the Board and collaborate alongside my fellow directors,” said Ms. Slanina. “I look forward to playing my part in helping to advance Velodyne’s very important mission in making the world a safer place.”
SOURCE: Velodyne Lidar
