Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) disclosed that its chairman has decided to step down as a member of its Board of Directors. Chamath Palihapitiya took this decision to focus on other public company board obligations. The company has confirmed that the Board has chosen Director Evan Lovell as Interim Chairman until a new chair is in place.
When Virgin Galactic made its public debut in 2019, Palihapitiya became the company's first Chairman. Palihapitiya stated that it has been an honor to assist Virgin Galactic in achieving some of its most important achievements to date, including taking the company public, establishing a strong capital base for future expansion, and gathering a world-class management team to take the company to new heights.
Furthermore, Chamath Palihapitiya added that he is so proud to leave the team in such capable hands as he finished this phase to concentrate on other current and forthcoming public board obligations, and he look would like to see their success for years ahead, and one day going to space alongside them.
On the other hand, Lovell has been a member of the Virgin Galactic Board of Directors since 2017 and is the Virgin Group's, Chief Investment Officer. He is an experienced private equity investor and administrator with over 20 years of experience working at TPG Capital and Culligan International, where he participated and engaged in global private equity and M&A.
Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier commented that Chamath was pivotal in the establishment of Virgin Galactic as a public corporation, and as their initial chair, his profound and insightful views have been tremendously beneficial to both him and the Company as they have expanded and reinforced their corporate reputation.