Saietta Group plc
SED:LN
Overview
Company Profile
Saietta Group is an established engineering company based in Oxfordshire, England. It specialises in propulsion motors for a broad range of electric vehicles (EVs) and has engineered break-through, patent-protected, axial-flux motor tech. It is branded AFT (axial flux traction) and is modular in design, meaning high and low voltage e-motor solutions can be provided from scooters to buses.
Classification
Financials
Corporate
Board of Directors
Anthony (“Tony”) Gott
Independent Non-Executive Chairman
Mr Gott joined the Board at Admission. Mr Gott is a highly experienced executive, with strong automotive, construction, public sector and aviation experience. Most recently, Mr Gott was Vice President of People & Places Solutions at Jacobs Engineering Limited, Executive Director of Major Programmes EMEA, Managing Director of Brandspring Limited (a company formed to combine a series of interim director roles), Chairman and Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd, and Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors Ltd. Previously, Mr Gott was Director of Engineering at Rolls-Royce & Bentley Motors, Director of Projects and General Manager of Strategic Planning.
Wicher (“Vic”) Kist
Chief Executive Officer
Mr Kist joined Saietta in 2017 and was appointed as a director of the Company in 2018. Dutch-born Mr Kist is an experienced, full vehicle automotive engineer with extensive powertrain and electronics knowledge. His passion for automotive product development started early on, working alongside his father restoring cars, the profits from which helped pay for his BSc University degree specialising in automotive and electronics. Most recently, Mr Kist was Managing Director for a leading specialist in Classic Jaguar and Lister road and race cars for two race seasons. Prior to that, Mr Kist was involved in delivering the world premier for an autonomous bio fuel powered fuel cell with Dutch defence. He also invented a bio fuel stirling engine, as one of the most silent generators for marine and defence applications and also delivered the first proof of concept for a large scale battery back-up, for the European space agency and to be used south America. In 2009, Mr Kist was appointed as Chief Operating Officer Dutch supercar brand Spyker, having been Chief Technology Officer since 2005. Mr Kist initially started his career at Cosworth in 1998 and since then has undertaken a number of high profile projects for Audi, Bentley and VW.
Steven Harrison
Finance Director
Mr Harrison joined the Company as an employee on 6 April 2021 and was appointed as a director of the Company on 22 April 2021. Mr Harrison is an internationally-experienced, bilingual finance director who has worked at both executive and board level in private and listed companies in the UK and Americas. Most recently, Mr Harrison was interim CFO at JATO Dynamics Limited and has held a number of similar roles including Interim Finance and Business Development Director at Arriva Group, CFO of Global Business Services at International Airlines Group, Group Finance Director at Avios Group Limited, Group CFO at Waterlogic plc, CFO for Northern Europe at International SOS, Director of Strategic Projects at Avis Europe Group, CFO of the Americas for John Menzies PLC and Regional Financial Controller for Europe and South America at Inchcape plc.
David Wilkinson
Senior Independent
Mr Wilkinson joined the Board at Admission. Mr Wilkinson is Chairman of the private property company CH Bailey Group Limited, Non-Executive Chairman at Goal Group Ltd, and a Non-Executive Director at Verso Biosense Group Limited. Mr Wilkinson was, until recently, a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director at AIM quoted digital marketer Be Heard Group plc Prior to that, Mr Wilkinson trained as a Chartered Accountant at Ernst & Young, going on to become a senior partner, working extensively within the firm for over three decades supporting growth companies. During his time at Ernst & Young, Mr Wilkinson’s broad remit included working as an audit partner for entrepreneurial businesses and taking many companies through fund raising, M&A, IPOs and other exits.
Emmanuel Clair
Non-Executive Director
Mr Clair became a director of the Company in 2018 and, prior to Admission, served as the Non-Executive Chairman. Mr Clair started his career in France as a research engineer in construction and then electricity. Over the last 20 years he has been working in the financial industry in London. Mr Clair worked at EDF for eight years, then for 12 years at Goldman Sachs where he managed the three energy trading desks in London covering gas, power, emissions, oil and oil products. Mr Clair is also Managing Partner at Mercuria, a global energy and commodity group. Having observed a deep shift towards higher tech and cleaner solutions with very high penetration in the oil and renewable industries, Mr Clair realised that a similar outcome would likely occur in the electric drive sector and, therefore, decided to invest personally in Saiett
Dr. Seshu Bhagavathula
Independent Non-Executive Director
Dr. Bhagavathula joined the company in December 2021 and has over 30 years’ experience in the automotive industry. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Swedish electric truck manufacturer, Volta Trucks AB. He is also advising Hong Kong-based investment firm Jebsen Capital on its automotive investments. He currently represents Jebsen on the Board of Cipia, a leader in computer vision AI for driver and cabin sensing technologies. Earlier in his career, Dr. Bhagavathula spent 18 years across a number of roles at Daimler AG, including over 4 years in India where he founded DaimlerChrysler’s R&D centre in Bangalore. From 2016, Dr. Bhagavathula spent nearly five years at Ashok Leyland, the Indian bus and truck manufacturer, as Chief Technology Officer and then President – New Technologies. Dr. Bhagavathula holds a master’s degree in Electronics and Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay, and a doctorate in High Frequency Technology from the University of Stuttgart.
Devyani Vaishampayan
Independent Non-Executive Director
Devyani is an experienced Independent Non-Executive Director. She is Remco Chair & NED at Saietta Group Plc, Audit Chair at Norman Broadbent Plc, NED on the Audit Board at Mazars and on the REMCO Committee at The England &Wales Law Society. In addition, Devyani is CEO of the HR TECH Partnership which runs The Human Capital Digital Innovation Hub focused on Digital/AI solutions around leadership, culture and talent management. Prior to this, Devyani has been an international and multi-sector FTSE 30 Group CHRO and board member effectively leading large, diverse and multi- billion complex organizations through transformational change. She has done global roles in successful organizations across various industries such as Citibank, AT&T, British Gas, Rolls-Royce and BSI. Having lived and worked in China, Singapore and Europe (and managed teams in the Americas & Middle East) she is very international in her outlook. Devyani is considered a thought Leader around the Future of Work, Inclusive Leadership, Digitization of the workforce and is a well-known speaker at business events.