WORLD CLASS TEAM

Based in Bristol, UK. Vertical has 120+ engineers with over 1,200 years of aerospace and advanced automotive experience at the highest level.

TOP-TIER TECHNOLOGY

Exclusive strategic partnerships with some of the world’s leading aerospace engineering firms.

HIGHEST SAFETY STANDARDS

Certified to EASA/CAA standards (the same as commercial aircraft) making VA-X4 100x safer than its FAA competitors.

2016

Vertical Aerospace is launched by Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder of OVO, with the vision of decarbonising air travel using the best technology from the aviation, energy and automotive industries.

2017

  • A team of six engineers design and build our first demonstrator aircraft, working closely with regulators
  • First tethered flight

2018

  • Our first eVTOL aircraft, VA-X1, was granted flight permission by the Civil Aviation Authority

2019

  • First flight of our second aircraft, VA-X2
  • Vertical Advanced Engineering is acquired to apply F1 agility and technology to eVTOL aircraft
  • Partnered with Honeywell

2020

  • VA-X4 is unveiled
  • Joined the Future Flight Challenge to make UAM a reality in the UK
  • UK Government grant to develop a smart charger

2021

  • Partnered with Rolls-Royce
  • Partnered with Solvay
  • Build of VA-X4
  • VA-X4 first flight
  • Joined Choose Paris Region to work towards demonstrating at the 2024 Olympics and establishing a commercial service in Paris

2024

  • Type Certification of VA-X4 through the CAA and EASA
  • Initial commercial services

Meet the team

120+ engineers with over 1,200 years of combined aerospace and advanced automotive experience.

Stephen Fitzpatrick

Founder
  • Founder of OVO, the world’s leading independent energy retailer
  • Founder of Manor F1 team
  • Founded Vertical in 2016

 

Michael Cervenka

CEO
  • Two decades of civil and military aerospace experience at Rolls-Royce, leading gas turbine design, development, certification and service support
  • Reported to the Rolls-Royce group CTO, co-developed electrical strategy and led future technologies programmes
  • Joined Vertical in June 2019

 

Vinny Casey

CFO
  • Previously CFO of OVO and Homesun
  • Ex PWC, CFA
  • Joined Vertical in November 2020

Eric Samson

Head of Engineering
  • With in excess of 29 years’ experience, Eric has a proven track record in holding various technical and leadership roles
  • At Jet Aviation, he was responsible for reorganising the engineering structure, implementing a growing range of engineering services and increasing EASA scope of approval
  • Joined July 2020

…..

Mike Gascoyne

CTO
  • Motorsport veteran and former F1 tech director at Jordan, Benetton/Renault, Toyota and Lotus/Caterham
  • Founded MGI Engineering – now Vertical Advanced Engineering
  • Joined July 2019

….

Tim Williams

Chief Engineer
  • Over 34 years of aerospace experience with a proven track record leading agile teams in developing and delivering new products
  • 10 years as a Chief Engineer at Rolls-Royce, accountable for a wide range of combat, transport and helicopter engines
  • Joined April 2020

Madhu Bhabuta

CIO
  • Seasoned CIO across multiple sectors including Aerospace, Defence, Insurance, Telecommunications and Healthcare
  • Successfully designed Rolls-Royce’s IT strategy and delivered game-changing IT capability for the Ministry of Defence and BT
  • Joined December 2019

  …

Paul Harper

Head of Certification
  • 12 years at Airbus, serving as A380 UK Chief Airworthiness Engineer and Head of A321 Neo Wing
  • Previous experiences at QinetiQ and UK Defense Evaluation Research Agency
  • Joined November 2017

Limhi Somerville

Head of Battery
  • Leads eVTOL EuroCAE battery certification panel and sits on EASA eVTOL certification board’s battery division
  • PhD in Lithium Ion battery performance and aging at Warwick University
  • Joined May 2019

Lawrence Blakeley

Head of Powertrain
  • 16 years of aerospace experience in electrical architecture, installation and design
  • Led electrical installation of the Orbital satellite launching system, the Airbus A400M wing electrical design and Airbus A350 electrical systems re-architecting
  • Joined November 2017

Vic Terry

Head of Digital Systems
  • Extensive Systems Engineering and aerospace safety critical software expertise including to level A safety standards (DO-178B/DO-254)
  • Professional category technical lead at Dyson, developing internet connected devices and technologies
  • Joined October 2017

………..