Vertical Aerospace has appointed Steffen Bay as Head of Market Development, Latin America (LATAM), and Derek Cheng as Head of Commercial, Asia-Pacific.
Bay will be based in Brazil where he will be responsible for leading the implementation of business development activities to open-up the LATAM market further for Vertical. As the former Chief Executive Officer of NHV, a worldwide specialised B-to-B helicopter services business, Bay will also be Vertical’s expert on the helicopter market and opportunity. He has over 20 years’ experience in the aviation and financial industry, having worked in senior roles at NHV, Era Helicopters, now Bristow Group and Airbus in Europe, Asia, North and South America.
Cheng will be based in Singapore and will be responsible for leading all commercial, business and partnership development activities in Asia-Pacific region for Vertical. Cheng has held several senior roles at Airbus, both in Toulouse and Singapore, including as the Head of Asia-Pacific for Airbus Urban Mobility and as the Head of Asia-Pacific for Government & Public Affairs and Strategic Partnerships for Airbus Group. Prior to joining Airbus, Cheng was the Regional Director for Europe at the Singapore Economic Development Board, responsible for industry development and the promotion of foreign direct investment.
Eduardo Dominguez Puerta, Chief Commercial Officer of Vertical Aerospace, said: “We are extremely excited to welcome Steffen and Derek on board. They both bring an incredible amount of knowledge and experience and will help us expand our commercial reach and secure proximity to our customers.”
Steffen Bay said: “I am excited to be joining Vertical and helping to expand its exceptional partner ecosystem across Latin America, where I previously worked for almost 10 years. There is a clear and obvious use case for electric aircraft across the region and I look forward to helping the business realise that potential. Having been the launching customer of several aircraft myself, I am very aware of what we will need to accomplish together in the years to come.
Derek Cheng said: “I am exhilarated to be joining Vertical, to grow the business and partnership ecosystem in Asia-Pacific, to pioneer zero-emissions aviation and transform mobility in cities.”