Archer Aviation Inc. (“Archer”), a leading Urban Air Mobility company and developer of all-electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft, and Atlas Crest Investment Corp. (“Atlas Crest”) (NYSE: ACIC) today announced Deborah Diaz, Maria Pinelli, and Fred Diaz as nominees for the post-closing board of directors. These nominations will add three additional diverse and seasoned executives to the combined company’s board from the aviation, automotive, technology, and finance & consulting sectors. These nominees will become directors of the combined company following the completion of the proposed business combination of Archer with Atlas Crest.

Commenting on the appointments, Brett Adcock, co-founder and co-CEO of Archer, said “We couldn’t be more grateful that such an accomplished and distinct group of individuals have chosen to join us as we embark on this remarkable journey to change the future of transportation for generations to come.”

“To attract such diversity of skills from established industries is a huge win for Archer and we’re excited to work with these world-class business and strategic minds to shape our route to market,” added Adam Goldstein, co-founder and co-CEO of Archer.

Deborah Diaz

Deborah Diaz served as the CTO and deputy CIO of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”) from 2009 to 2016, where she was responsible for NASA’s global system infrastructure, risk management, financial and regulatory stewardship, innovation and technology infusion. Since leaving NASA in 2016, she has served as CEO and VC Advisor of Catalyst ADV, a strategic growth advisory firm specializing in large-scale business transformation, developing new business markets and strategic partnerships. Previously, Ms. Diaz also held executive leadership roles at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. We believe that Ms. Diaz’s decades of senior level international business experience, coupled with her public corporate board and advisory board director experiences with Primis Financial, Section, Intel, Dell, Equinix and many others in the private sector and in government, will add significantly to Archer’s roadmap towards their full commercializing of eVTOL aircraft.

Maria Pinelli

Maria Pinelli led Ernst & Young LLP’s (“EY”) Consumer Products and Retail sector based in the U.S. Southeast from 2017 until the end of 2020. Prior to this role, Ms. Pinelli was a Global Vice Chair of EY from 2011 to 2017 and led EY’s Global Strategic Growth Business unit with a focus on serving entrepreneurs and private and public companies poised for exponential growth.  During this period, she was also EY’s Global IPO Leader consulting to clients preparing for the pre and post journey. Prior to leading this global business of EY, Ms. Pinelli was EY’s America’s director of strategic growth markets from 2006 to 2011. In this role, Ms. Pinelli led a team of over 5,000 professionals serving high growth private, public and private-equity backed businesses. Ms. Pinelli currently serves on the board of directors of Globant S.A. As Archer scales its operations, Ms. Pinelli’s international business experience, financial expertise and her extensive experience in advising growth companies will serve as an asset to Archer’s management team.

Fred Diaz

Fred Diaz served as President & CEO and Chairman of the Board of Mitsubishi Motors North America from April 2018 to April 2020. Prior to such role, Mr. Diaz served as General Manager in Charge of Performance Optimization Global Marketing and Sales of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in Japan, from July 2017 to April 2018. From April 2013 to July 2017, Mr. Diaz served in a number of executive roles for Nissan Motor Corporation, including Division Vice President & General Manager of North American Trucks and Light Commercial Vehicles and Sr. Vice President Sales & Marketing and Operations.  Mr. Diaz also served in several roles for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles from 2004 to 2013, including President and CEO Ram Truck Brand and President and CEO Chrysler Mexico. Mr. Diaz currently serves as a director of Site One Landscapes (formerly John Deere Landscapes), a publicly traded company. Mr. Diaz’s extensive experience in operations management, sales, and marketing in the automotive transportation industry bring significant value as Archer prepares to scale customer operations ahead of the expected launch of commercial operations in 2024.

Oscar Munoz

The nomination of Oscar Munoz to the post-closing board of directors was announced last week. Mr. Munoz, a seasoned aviation executive, served as CEO of United Airlines (“United”) from 2015 to 2020 and led the company’s board as Executive Chairman from 2020 until retiring in May 2021. During his tenure, United earned recognition for innovation and customer service, earning trust with employees and leading the industry toward a sustainable aviation future. Before joining United’s executive team, Mr. Munoz served in several roles at CSX Corporation from 2003 to 2015, including President, COO, and CFO.  He has also held senior leadership roles at AT&T, U.S. West and The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo.  Prior to becoming CEO, Mr. Munoz served on the board of directors of United Airlines’ parent company, United Continental Holdings, having earlier joined the board of Continental Airlines in 2004.  Mr. Munoz’s experience in management and finance working for well-known consumer and airline brands positions Mr. Munoz to advise Archer’s team as they scale globally.

Upon closing of the proposed business combination, these nominees are expected to be joined by Brett Adcock, Adam Goldstein and Michael Spellacy, CEO of Atlas Crest, on the board of directors of the combined company. Mr. Spellacy has extensive experience in technology, data and analytics, capital markets and private equity and most recently, was the Global Industry Leader of Accenture Capital Markets while overseeing Accenture’s Asset Management, Wealth Management and Investment and Trading businesses.  Previously Mr. Spellacy held senior roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Broadhaven Capital, Bridgewater Associates and Boston Consulting Group.