New members to executive team at ZeroAvia
by CM Staff
The zero-emissions aviation company welcomes Arnab Chatterjee and James McMicking to its team of executives.
HOLLISTER — ZeroAvia, a hydrogen-electric, zero-emission aviation company, has added two new senior hires and a new member to its advisory board as it prepares for developments over the next year, the company has stated.
James McMicking joins as ZeroAvia’s first Vice President of Strategy from the Aerospace Technology Institute. The company stated that he was one of the first executives and held several positions throughout the business over seven years, including its Head of Strategy and Operations.
“Through my work, in recent years I have seen first hand the rapid progression of zero-emission technologies for flight, so it is exhilarating to be joining a company that I believe is taking the right approach and is on the path to certification and market adoption in the very near future,” said James McMicking in a company statement.
“True zero-emission technology will reduce aviation’s climate impact, improve air quality around airports and enable better regional connectivity in the future.”
Arnab Chatterjee also joins the business as Vice President of Infrastructure. According to ZeroAvia, Chatterjee spent almost a decade at Shell working on low carbon fuel, digital, e-mobility, and renewable energy solutions in a range of technical, commercial and strategy roles. Most recently, he has been driving Shell’s efforts in hydrogen at a global scale. The company also stated that Chatterjee has a background in chemical product development, venture investments and corporate development. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Oxford.
“Seeing ZeroAvia’s aircraft in the sky for the first time last year was a real lightning bolt moment, and I have followed the R&D progress closely. With a 19-seat aircraft close to flight testing and commercialisation a little over two years away, ground infrastructure requires equal focus to ensure our success in transforming the future of flight. It is an exciting challenge ahead,” said Arnab Chatterjee in a statement.
ZeroAvia reported raising over $70 million in 2021, taking the total to $115 million, with the most recent round of $35 million announced in December. The company also reported increasing its headcount to nearly 100 employees globally.
ZeroAvia also announced several commercial deals throughout the year’s final quarter, amounting to more than 460 commitments for hydrogen-electric engines. The total number of engines for in service or stored aircraft produced by the OEMs in contracts with ZeroAvia currently sits at over 7,000.
