People in composites: February 2023

Virgin Galactic updates leadership structure

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (Orange County, Calif., U.S.), an aerospace and space travel company, has announced its updated leadership structure to support commercial spaceline operations, which are on track for Q2 2023 as previously announced by the company. The organizational changes will support the company’s core near-term objectives of delivering increased flight frequency and executing rapid fleet development plans.

As part of this leadership update, Swami Iyer, president, aerospace systems, departed from his position on Jan. 12, 2023. He will continue to serve as an advisor to Michael Colglazier, CEO of the company, until March 3, 2023 to ensure a smooth transition.

“With the completion of the enhancement program for our mothership at hand, our streamlined leadership structure will help propel the business forward as we prepare for commercial spaceline operations,” Colglazier says. “Swami has been instrumental in establishing our future production strategy and in leading the work to prepare our initial ships for commercial flight, and we are grateful for his contribution. Our experienced leadership team brings deep expertise to the next phase for the company — flying our customers safely and regularly to space and expanding our future fleet.”

The leadership team of industry veterans leading Virgin Galactic’s spaceline operations includes:

Mike Moses, president, spaceline missions and safety: Moses has led flight and mission operations at Virgin Galactic since 2011 following his seventeen-year career at NASA (Washington, D.C., U.S.), where he led space shuttle launch operations until the shuttle retired from service in 2011.

Mike Moore, executive vice president, spaceline technical operations: Moore joined Virgin Galactic in 2022 following a long and successful career as SVP, technical operations with Delta Airlines (Atlanta, Ga., U.S.). His team at Virgin Galactic works to ensure vehicles are manufactured, maintained and sustained to the highest standards of quality, reliability and efficiency.

Steve Justice, senior vice president, spaceline programs and engineering: Justice — a 39-year veteran of Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Md., U.S.) and a “legend” in its Skunk Works division — leads the design, engineering and program management of Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight system and future fleet development.

Exel Composites appoints new electrical product business owner

To expand its market share and accelerate the uptake of insulating composites globally across the utility power infrastructure and machinery sectors, composites manufacturer Exel Composites (Mäntyharju, Finland and Chesire, U.K.) has appointed a new product business owner (PBO) for electrical, Heini Kloster. The move comes at a time when many countries like the U.S. are funding multi-billion dollar electrical infrastructure updates to improve aging transmission lines.

Kloster has an experienced background in products and systems for electric power distribution and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Tampere University of Technology in Finland. Her technical background and sales experience, working for large corporations like ABB (Zurich, Switzerland) and, most recently, Schneider Electric (Rueil-Malmaison, France), means she is well placed to provide the necessary technical expertise and support for Exel’s customers in the electrical sphere. What’s more, she recently graduated with a master’s degree in business development, positioning her well to seek new business opportunities and help Exel expand its market share.

Heini Kloster, Exel Composites product business owner (PBO) for electrical.

“Throughout my career, I have been the communication link between customers, sales and R&D personnel, making sure everyone is on the same page with regards to meeting customer needs,” Kloster says. “This is something I’d like to continue at Exel, allowing us to more effectively collaborate with customers to find the best composite solution for their electrical applications. These may be fiberglass insulating rods for low-, medium- and high-voltage applications like electrical arrestors, insulating rings for electric motors, or insulating rail joints, enabling proper function of railway signaling systems.”

“Furthermore, because I can offer technical support with the knowledge from my studies, this will add more value in our customer relationships, as well as open new avenues of opportunity for Exel to expand into growing markets, such as those in the U.S. and Europe,” she continues.

“The electrical market is of great strategic importance to Exel, and Heini’s experience in electrical engineering and sales makes her an asset to the global team,” Olli Teva, SVP marketing and sales at Exel Composites, adds. “Having Heini on the team will help ensure that all our customers, present and future, are well equipped to solve their challenges sustainably using composites.”

Dr. h.c. Susanne Klatten resigns as SGL Carbon SE chairwoman of the Supervisory Board

Dr. h.c. Susanne Klatten informed SGL Carbon SE’s (Wiesbaden, Germany) Board of Management that she is resigning her mandate as chairwoman of the Supervisory Board for personal reasons as of the end of the next Annual General Meeting on May 9, 2023; thus, she will be leaving the Board before the end of her term of office. A succession process will be initiated in a timely manner.

“My entrepreneurial and social commitments have multiplied during recent years,” Klatten states. “In the future, I’d like to take new steps and expand existing investments. These ambitions collide with the time-consuming office as chairman of the Supervisory Board at SGL Carbon.”

Klatten has been a member of the Supervisory Board of SGL Carbon SE since 2009 and has been its chairwoman since April 30, 2013. Through her investment company SKion GmbH (Bad Homburg v. d. H., Germany), she holds around 28.5% of the shares in the company.

“It’s a fitting moment for a change,” Klatten notes. “SGL Carbon has successfully finalized its transformation program by end of 2022. In spite of [the] pandemic and energy crisis, earnings and profitability could be increased significantly. With its dedicated employees and its products, carbon and graphite — important for wind power, solar energy and e-mobility — SGL Carbon serves high-growth markets and shapes the societal change which is predetermined by the EU Green Deal. Thus, the company is perfectly set up for the future. SKion’s investment in SGL Carbon is not affected by this decision. The connection between SKion as the largest shareholder and SGL Carbon remains unchanged.”

Dr. Torsten Derr, chairman of SGL’s Management Board, thanks Klatten on behalf of his Management Board colleague, Thomas Dippold, and the entire SGL workforce. “Susanne Klatten has always supported us as chairwoman of the Supervisory Board and as a major shareholder and has closely accompanied the transformation of SGL Carbon,” Derr notes. “She played a decisive role in shaping the development of the company and placed particular emphasis on good corporate governance. We are grateful to Susanne Klatten for her dedicated work and for the excellent and trusting cooperation."

Airbus selects new future chief financial officer

Dr. Thomas Toepfer, Airbus CFO.

Airbus SE (Amsterdam, Netherlands) has appointed Dr. Thomas Toepfer to succeed Dominik Asam as chief financial officer (CFO). Toepfer, currently CFO of Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany), will join Airbus on Sept. 1, 2023.

Asam will leave Airbus on March 3, 2023. Xavier Tardy, executive VP finance for Airbus Defence and Space, will ensure continuity during the interim period in addition to his current role.

“We are pleased to have Thomas joining Airbus as CFO at this important time for the company. Thomas is a highly regarded CFO in the DAX40 and I am looking forward to working with him on the Airbus Executive Committee as we continue to ramp up production and secure our long-term ambitions in a complex operating environment,” Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO, says. “I sincerely thank Dominik for everything he has brought to Airbus. Together with his team, he helped the company navigate the most severe crisis of its history, ensuring we are well positioned to manage the recovery and prepare our sustainable future. I wish Dominik all the best for his new challenges at SAP.”

As CFO, Toepfer will report to CEO Guillaume Faury and become a member of the Airbus Executive Committee.

Toepfer has been Covestro’s CFO since April 2018 and has additionally held the position of labor director since January 2019. Before joining Covestro, he was CFO of KION Group (Frankfurt, Germany), a provider of materials handling and warehouse automation solutions. Since January 2022, Toepfer has also been a member of the shareholder committee and Supervisory Board of CLAAS KGaA mbH (Harsewinkel, Germany), a global manufacturer of agricultural machinery.

Born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1972, Dr. Toepfer holds a PhD in business administration from Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management (WHU), Koblenz.

Michelman welcomes new chief science & sustainability officer

Dr. Portia Yarborough, Michelman chief science & sustainability officer.

Michelman (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) announced that Dr. Portia Yarborough has joined the company as chief science & sustainability officer (CSSO), which became effective Feb. 6, 2023.

Yarborough is a dynamic leader with more than two decades of experience creating value at DuPont (Wilmington, Del., U.S.). She has expertise in delivering innovative solutions using high-performance engineered materials, elastomers, composites and sealing technologies. Yarborough has helped customers excel in a diverse range of markets including aerospace, electronics and protective apparel. She has a track record of building and delivering innovation pipelines to sustain growth of multi-million dollar portfolios. Yarborough is a strategic change champion with a strong focus on differentiated risk management, sustainability and innovating safer by design.

“We are delighted to welcome Portia to our team. Her leadership expertise and industry knowledge will help us accelerate our sustainability initiatives throughout Michelman and the industries we serve,” Rick Michelman, president and CEO at Michelman, says. “Her passion for community and professional involvement — from advocating for trails and scenic byways with Delaware Greenways to sparking curiosity with educational experiences through Hope Academy Fund —  aligns perfectly with Michelman’s values of focusing on people and communities.”