Appoints Daniel
Ninivaggi as Chairman of the Board
LORDSTOWN, Ohio, May 19, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- Lordstown Motors Corp. (Nasdaq: RIDE), ("Lordstown
Motors"), an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of electric
light duty trucks focused on the commercial fleet market, announced
today that at its annual meeting of stockholders, Joseph B. Anderson, Jr., Laura J. Soave and Angela Strand were elected as independent
directors. Mr. Anderson and Ms. Soave are new directors, and
each has extensive experience in the global automotive
industry. Incumbent director Ms. Strand is joining the
Compensation Committee, Mr. Anderson will serve as a member of the
Audit Committee and Ms. Soave will serve on the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors has also combined the roles of Chairman
of the Board and CEO and current CEO, Daniel A. Ninivaggi, will serve in this
capacity, effective following the annual meeting.
David T. Hamamoto, a current
independent director and Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee of the Board, will serve as lead independent
director, also effective following the annual meeting.
Mr. Anderson brings decades of experience in manufacturing and
operations leadership positions, primarily in the global automotive
industry. He currently serves as Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of TAG Holdings, LLC, a company owning several
manufacturing, service and technology-based companies, which he
founded in 2001. Prior to that, Mr. Anderson served as Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Chivas Industries, LLC, a manufacturer
of interior trim products and lighting assemblies principally for
the automotive industry, and as President and Chief Executive
Officer of Composite Energy Management Systems, Incorporated, an
automotive parts manufacturing company. Mr. Anderson also served in
various operational roles at General Motors Corp. ("GM"). Before
joining GM, Mr. Anderson served in the military for 13 years,
including his service as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army, and is a graduate of
the United States Military Academy at West
Point. Mr. Anderson currently serves on the board of
directors of or an advisor to various industry organizations and
previously served on the board of directors of several New York
Stock Exchange companies, including Rite Aid Corporation, from
April 2006 to April 2019, and as the chairman of each of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago-Detroit Branch and the U.S.
Department of Commerce Manufacturing Council.
Ms. Soave has over 20 years of marketing and brand experience,
primarily in the automotive industry. She currently serves as
the Chief Brand Officer of
CrossCountry Mortgage, a retail mortgage lender. From
April 2018 to January 2021, Ms. Soave served as Executive Vice
President, Marketing & Merchandising of Icahn Automotive Group,
LLC, an aftermarket parts distribution and service company. Prior
to that, Ms. Soave served as Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing
& Communications Officer of Federal-Mogul Holdings, Corp., an
$8 billion automotive supplier
(subsequently acquired by Tenneco), from September 2014 to April
2018. Ms. Soave's additional marketing and brand experience
includes roles with Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen Group of
America, Inc., Chrysler Group, LLC and Gerson Lehrman Group. Ms.
Soave currently serves on the board of directors of K&N
Engineering, a global manufacturer of automotive performance
filtration products, and the Walsh
College Foundation.
"We are truly excited to have Joe and Laura join our
Board. Each has deep and relevant automotive and executive
experience and will make valuable contributions to Lordstown as we bring the Endurance to market
and reposition the company," said Daniel A.
Ninivaggi, Lordstown Motors CEO. "On behalf of the entire
Board, I'd also like to express my sincere appreciation to retiring
directors, Michael Gates and
Martin J. Rucidlo, for their service
and many contributions on the Board."
"Dan and his team have made significant progress in the
transition to a scalable business model, starting with the
Endurance launch and the partnership with Foxconn, and these
appointments reflect both the progress and Board's confidence in
Dan and his management team," said Angela
Strand, outgoing Board Chairwoman.
About Lordstown Motors Corp.
Lordstown Motors is
an electric vehicle (EV) innovator developing high-quality, light
duty commercial fleet vehicles, with the Endurance all electric
pick-up truck as its first vehicle being launched in the
Lordstown, Ohio facility.
Lordstown Motors has corporate, engineering, research and
development facilities in Lordstown,
Ohio, Farmington Hills,
Mich. and Irvine, Calif.
For additional information, visit
http://www.lordstownmotors.com/.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes
forward looking statements. These statements are made under the
"safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified
by words such as "feel," "believe," "expects," "estimates,"
"projects," "intends," "should," "is to be," or the negative of
such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking
statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause
actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements contained herein due to many factors, including, but not
limited to: the need to raise substantial additional capital to
execute our business plan, achieve our production targets for the
Endurance in 2022 and beyond, to continue ongoing operations and
remain a going concern, and our ability to raise such funding on a
reasonable timeline and with suitable terms; the cost and other
impacts of litigation, regulatory proceedings, investigations,
claims and availability of insurance coverage and/or adverse
publicity including with respect to the matters raised by
the March 24, 2022 stockholder letter, which may have a
material adverse effect, whether or not successful or valid, on our
liquidity position, business prospects and ability to obtain
financing; our limited operating history and our ability to execute
our business plan, including through our relationship with Foxconn;
our ability to raise sufficient capital in order to invest in the
tooling that we expect will enable us to eventually lower the
Endurance bill of materials cost, continue design enhancements of
the Endurance and fund any future vehicles we may develop; the
rollout of our business and the timing of expected business
milestones, including our ability, together with Foxconn as
applicable, to complete the engineering of the Endurance, and
conversion and retooling of the Lordstown facility, to
establish and maintain appropriate supplier relationships, to
successfully complete testing, homologation and certification, and
to start production of the Endurance in accordance with our
projected timeline; supply chain disruptions, inflation and the
potential inability to source essential components and raw
materials, including on a timely basis or at acceptable cost, and
their consequences on testing, production, sales and other
activities; our ability to obtain binding purchase orders and build
customer relationships; our ability to deliver on the expectations
of customers with respect to the pricing, performance, quality,
reliability, safety and efficiency of the Endurance and to provide
the levels of service and support that they will require; our
ability to conduct business using a direct sales model, rather than
through a dealer network used by most other OEMs; the effects of
competition on our ability to market and sell vehicles; our
inability to retain key personnel and to hire additional personnel;
the ability to protect our intellectual property rights; the
failure to obtain required regulatory approvals; changes in laws or
regulatory requirements or new or different interpretations of
existing law; changes in governmental incentives and fuel and
energy prices; the impact of health epidemics, including the
COVID-19 pandemic, on our business; cybersecurity threats and
compliance with privacy and data protection laws; failure to timely
implement and maintain adequate financial, information technology
and management processes and controls and procedures; and the
possibility that we may be adversely affected by other economic,
geopolitical, business and/or competitive factors, including the
direct and indirect effects of the war in Ukraine. In
addition, the transactions entered into with Foxconn are subject to
risks and uncertainties. No assurances can be given
that Lordstown Motors and Foxconn will successfully
implement the contract manufacturing agreement, jointly develop
additional EVs for launch through the joint venture or otherwise
achieve the expected benefits of their business relationship. If we
are unable to maintain our relationship with Foxconn or effectively
manage outsourcing the production of the Endurance to Foxconn, we
may be unable to ensure continuity, quality, and compliance with
our design specifications or applicable laws and regulations, which
may ultimately disrupt and have a negative effect on our production
and operations. The success of the joint venture depends on many
variables, such as technology, innovation, adequate funding, supply
chain and other economic conditions, competitors, customer demand
and other factors that impact new vehicle development, many of
which are not within the parties' control. If we are unable to
develop new vehicles for ourselves and potentially other OEM
customers, our business prospects, results of operations and
financial condition may be adversely affected. We will need
additional funding to execute our 2022 business plan and achieve
scaled production of the Endurance. As we seek additional sources
of financing, there can be no assurance that such financing would
be available to us on favorable terms or at all. Our ability to
obtain additional financing in the debt and equity capital markets
is subject to several factors, including market and economic
conditions, the significant amount of capital required, the fact
that our bill of materials cost is currently, and expected to
continue to be, substantially higher than our anticipated selling
price, uncertainty surrounding regulatory approval and the
performance of the vehicle, meaningful exposure to material losses
related to ongoing litigation and the SEC investigation,
our performance and investor sentiment with respect to us and our
business and industry, as well as our ability to successfully
implement our arrangements with Foxconn. Additional information on
potential factors that could affect the financial results of the
Company and its forward-looking statements is included in its most
recent Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are
qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Any
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they
are made, and Lordstown Motors undertakes no obligation
to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this release.
Contacts:
Investors
Carter W. Driscoll, CFA
IR@lordstownmotors.com
Media
Colleen Robar
313.207.5960
crobar@robarpr.com
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SOURCE Lordstown Motors Corp.