– USA, CA – Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (NASDAQ: VLDR / VLDRW), the leading lidar company, known worldwide for its broad portfolio of breakthrough lidar technologies, today announced the appointment of Michael Dee – a Board member since Velodyne’s debut as a public company – as Chairman of its Board of Directors, succeeding Dr. Joe Culkin who decided to step down as Chairman of the Board but will remain a Board member.
The Company also announced the appointment of Kristin Slanina to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.
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.
Dr. Culkin said, “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.”
About Kristin Slanina
Kristin Slanina has been serving as an advisor on the transportation sector to the Velodyne Board since May 2021 and currently is the Managing Director of Charge Across America, the first of its kind, 10-day race starting October 31st from New York to Los Angeles, using only electric vehicles and highlighting the rapid innovations made in EV’s. She is soon to be appointed to be the Chief Innovation Officer at ParkMyFleet, creating new mobility hubs for the future. Previously, she served as TrueCar’s COO where she led the newly formed solutions group and helped the company accelerate into its next phase of growth. Kristin spent the first 21 years of her career at Ford Motor Company, beginning as a powertrain engineer. For over six years Kristin worked in Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering group before leading the global effort to define Ford’s overall vision on the future of mobility and address key societal and environmental issues. She has also held roles at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles after Ford. Kristin worked at Ernst & Young, where she created and developed their Global Mobility Practice, advising clients on the future of mobility and smart cities. Her understanding of autonomous vehicle technology, connected car and electrification aided her in leading teams to define and implement new mobility business models, as well as how to scale those businesses. After EY, Kristin was Thirdware’s Chief Transformation officer from 2019 to 2020, where she led the Emerging Technology group, branching the company out into new areas such as vehicle software development, connected vehicles, machine learning, and blockchain technology.
“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.”
Kristin holds an M.S. and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
About Michael Dee
Michael Dee is the CFO of PureCycle Technologies, where he helped lead the effort to raise over $730 million for future development. Mr. Dee was the President, CFO, and a member of the Board of Directors of Graf Industrial Inc., the Special Purpose Acquisition Company which went public on the NYSE in October 2019 and subsequently merged with Velodyne in September 2020, ultimately raising approximately $430 million for Velodyne via the merger, private investment in public equity and the exercise of the Graf warrants. Before Graf, Mr. Dee was the Senior Advisor to the President for Finance of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing, China from 2015 to July 2016 and also served as a member of its Management and Investment Committees. The AIIB is a Multi-Lateral Development Bank initially formed by 57 countries that initially committed $100 billion to build infrastructure across Asia. From 2010 to 2015, Mr. Dee managed various philanthropic and education-related endeavors and private investments. Mr. Dee was Senior Managing Director — International of Temasek Holdings Private Limited, Singapore’s $380 billion sovereign investment company, from 2008 to 2010 and also served as a senior member of its Management Committee and Investment Committees.
Mr. Dee began his career at Morgan Stanley in 1981 in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department and for the next 26 years held a variety of senior positions in its capital markets, investment banking, and firm management divisions, including as regional CEO for Southeast Asia. Mr. Dee has lived in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Houston and Dallas during his professional career, of which 22 years were overseas, and has completed transactions in over 50 countries. Mr. Dee was Singapore’s Honorary Consul General to the State of Texas while living in Houston.
Mr. Dee has served on the Graf Board of Directors from October 2018, before the merger with Velodyne, and continued on the Velodyne Board of Directors since September 2020 where he is also Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee and a member of the Audit Committee.
Mr. Dee received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with Senior Honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1981.
About Velodyne Lidar
Velodyne Lidar, under the leadership of founder David Hall, ushered in a new era of autonomous technology with the invention of real-time surround view lidar sensors. Velodyne, the global leader in lidar, is known for its broad portfolio of breakthrough lidar technologies. Velodyne’s revolutionary sensor and software solutions provide flexibility, quality, and performance to meet the needs of a wide range of industries, including autonomous vehicles, advanced driver assistance systems, robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles, smart cities and security. Through continuous innovation, Velodyne strives to transform lives and communities by advancing safer mobility for all.
For more information: https://velodynelidar.com/
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