Dirk Hoke to become Volocopter CEO
Tags: Air taxis, UAM, Urban air mobility, Volocopter
Mar 14, 2022 - 9:54 am
Former CEO of Airbus Defence & Space, Dirk Hoke, will join Volocopter as CEO in September 2022.
Florian Reuter, who has led Volocopter from a five person startup to a 500-strong global company over the past seven years is stepping down at his own wishes . Reuter will remain CEO until a handover has been completed in September 2022.
Volocopter recently signed a funding round of US$ 170 million and is positioned to launch UAM services in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Hoke brings extensive experience in leading big tech entities within Airbus and Siemens from a technical, strategic, and commercial side. His strong track record in transformation and digitalisation made him the candidate of choice. Volocopter is aiming to become the first UAM developer to go to market.
Volocopter aiming to become UAM market leader
Stefan Klocke – Chairman of the Advisory Board at Volocopter said: "Out of an impressive lineup of candidates, Dirk Hoke was our absolute preferred choice. Combining our success with Dirk's experience and vision for our company, Volocopter will continue to lead the emerging industry and successfully master the coming phase of growth and commercialisation."
He added: "The ability to attract such a renowned industry leader is proof of the quality of the work done by our team. Volocopter is in the best shape ever: We fly our aircraft in cities worldwide, increased our valuation to over US$1.7 billion, raised over US$ 579 million in funds, and established historic industry milestones that make us the undisputed leader in UAM. All this would not have been possible without the passionate leadership of Florian over the past seven years. We are truly grateful for his extraordinary contribution and let him go with a heavy heart. We fully respect and understand his personal decision and are happy to keep him in the family as a friend and shareholder."
"Bringing electric taxis to market is a dream come true"
Dirk Hoke, Future CEO of Volocopter said: "No company is closer to making this most innovative form of mobility a reality in cities around the world than Volocopter. Bringing electric air taxis to market in the next years is a dream come true not only for me but for many."
"My experience from Airbus and Siemens will help us monetise on the leading market position Volocopter has achieved under Florian's leadership. Volocopter's product lineup, its certification progress, team spirit, and ecosystem approach put us in a unique competitive position."
Reuter will leave Volocopter after a successful handover period to Dirk Hoke has been completed in September 2022. "I have known Dirk for a number of years and am convinced that his experience and leadership style are a perfect match for the strategy and culture at Volocopter, which is why I put his name forward to the Board," he said.
"It has been an incredible privilege and honour to serve as Volocopter CEO to a world-class team from across the globe. It is thanks to every single one of them that Volocopter continues to lead air taxi development. I'm proud of the team and wish Dirk all the best on the great Volocopter journey ahead."
Volocopter has been developing UAM for over a decade. It has created a family of electrically powered aircraft that can transport passengers (the VoloCity and VoloConnect) and goods (the VoloDrone). It is the only eVTOL company that has obtained design as well as production organization approvals (DOA and POA) from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
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