Horizon Aircraft who recently announced it would be merging with publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Pono Capital Three, has now disclosed its Board of Directors, reports a press release. The post-merger Board will be led by Brandon Robinson, Founder and CEO of Horizon, and is formed of five directors who hold extensive experience and expertise.
The composition of the Horizon Aircraft Board of Directors are:-
Jason O’Neill: With more than 20 years of senior leadership experience, he has managed multi-million dollar projects across healthcare, finance, and smart cities, and has navigated enterprise strategy vital to the highly regulated aerospace industry.
Trisha Nomura: Currently serving as an independent director of Pono and Chair of its Audit Committee, her role will continue for the newly merged company.
John Maris, Ph.D: Will continue serving as an independent director of the merged Horizon Aircraft. Since 2008, Dr. Maris has held the role of CEO of Advanced Aerospace Solutions, acting as the principal flight-test investigator and test pilot for NASA’s Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Request technology. He is a veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force and graduated from the USAF Pilot Course at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Dr. Maris received his Ph.D. from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, earning his doctorate in Aviation Safety and Human Factors.
John Pinsent: Will also continue serving as an independent director of the merged Horizon Aircraft. In 2004, he founded St. Arnaud Pinsent Steman Chartered Professional Accountants, a chartered professional accounting firm based in Alberta, Canada. Pinsent also serves as a board member of Enterprise Group, a Toronto Stock Exchange public company that provides specialised equipment and services in the build out of infrastructure for energy, pipeline, and construction industries.
Brandon Robinson
Brandon Robinson (Chairman): Prior to the launch of Horizon Aircraft, Brandon flew CF-18s in the Royal Canadian Air Force for nearly 20 years and had the distinction of graduating from the Canadian Top Gun training school. He was also entrusted with managing major capital projects totalling over UYSD4 billion and was involved in the acquisition of the F‑35 and helped design the strategic plan to extend the functional life of the CF-18. Robinson has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Royal Military College, an MBA from Royal Roads University, has co-authored several successful aerospace patents, and holds an Airline Transport Pilots License.
He commented, “We have attracted both experienced public and private company executives to help shape the trajectory of Horizon Aircraft. Each member brings distinct operating skills to assist us as we move into 2024.”
The business merger should occur in January and Horizon will then begin trading on the NASDAQ as a public company. There has not been an e/VTOL SPAC for some period of time. Previous examples include Lilium, Vertical Aerospace, Archer and Joby. This form of business merger remains controversial and is deemed risky for public shareholders, as their investment does not generally fair well over the medium term.
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