Lucid Motors, which is setting new standards for sustainable mobility with its advanced luxury EVs, today announced three additions to the company’s leadership team, with Michael Bell joining as Senior Vice President of Digital, Achim Pantfoerder as Vice President of Program Management, and Nicolas Minbiole as Vice President of Global Quality. These additions bring decades of expertise in the high-tech, automotive, and aerospace industries with companies like Apple, Intel, and Airbus. The company also announced the promotion of Eric Bach to Senior Vice President – Product and Chief Engineer, as well as the elevation of Derek Jenkins to Senior Vice President – Design and Brand. As the company prepares for customer deliveries of its Lucid Air in the second half of 2021, these enhancements to the executive team demonstrate Lucid’s commitment to delivering quality and innovation from concept to production.
“We are delighted to have Michael, Achim and Nicolas join the Lucid team. Their exceptional skills, gained from years at notable high-tech companies, will help drive continuous innovation, excellence and quality at Lucid” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Motors. “Meanwhile, the promotions of Eric and Derek highlight the significant contributions and critical roles they continue to play as we develop the world’s most sophisticated electric vehicles.”
Mr. Bell brings 30 years of high-tech experience to Lucid, including leadership roles at Apple and Intel, and most recently serving as Chief Technology Officer of EV startup Rivian. Prior to this, he was the Chief Executive Officer and president of Silver Spring Networks, a provider of networking platform and solutions for smart energy networks. Previously, he held various executive roles at Intel Corporation and served as head of Product Development at Palm, Inc. While at Apple, he played a significant role in the development of the iPhone, iMac, AirPort, and Apple TV products.
Dr. Pantfoerder brings 27 years of global engineering experience, most recently at Apple, with deep expertise in creating products that enable innovative user experiences through excellence in design and engineering. With his focus on program management at Lucid, he will be responsible for overall program execution and delivery, as well as implementation of product definition and project management methodologies. He was most recently Senior Director at Apple, leading Engineering Program Management for several key products, including the first iPhone. Prior to his role at Apple, he was Vice President of Product Development at Tropian, developing product designs from concept to launch.
Mr. Minbiole joins Lucid with over 25 years of experience in the automotive and aerospace industries, having extensive operational experience across development, manufacturing, supply chain management, quality, and distribution, among others. In his most recent role, he was the Managing Partner at 3Tree Consulting, which specializes in corporate turnarounds, program rescues, and transformational improvement of manufacturing, quality, procurement and innovation functions. He has also had various executive leadership roles at CAE, Airbus Defense and Space, Tesla Motors, and Nissan Motor Corporation where he designed and executed comprehensive quality processes.
Lucid’s mission is to inspire the adoption of sustainable energy by creating the most captivating electric vehicles, centered around the human experience. The company’s first car, the Lucid Air, is a state-of-the-art luxury sedan with a California-inspired design underpinned by race-proven technology. Featuring luxurious interior space in a mid-size exterior footprint, select models of the Air will be capable of a projected range of over 500 miles and 0-60 mph in under 2.5 seconds. Customer deliveries of the Lucid Air, which will be produced at Lucid’s new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, will begin in the second half of 2021.
