Polestar announced on Tuesday that four members of its Board of Directors will step down at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM).
The AGM will take place on June 30 in London, where the proposed Board changes will be submitted for shareholder approval.
According to a statement by Polestar, Board members Donghui (Daniel) Li and David Richter have announced their decisions to resign, both effective at the closing of this year’s AGM.
Donghui Li is Geely Holding Group‘s CEO. The auto group backs both Polestar and Volvo, its previous owner.
As of late last year, Geely owned a 78.7% stake in Volvo Cars.
The group acquired the Swedish brand in 2015 and became Polestar‘s major shareholder in early 2024 with a position of 24%.
By then, Geely‘s founder and president Li Shufu held roughly 39% of Polestar‘s stake, while Volvo retained 18% (previously having owned 48%) of the company.
Geely‘s VP and CFO Quan (Joe) Zhang is proposed to succeed Li on the Board.
David Richter is VP of Business and Corporate Development at DoorDash, the giant commerce logistics platform headquartered in California.
The company also announced that Karen Francis and Zhe (David) Wei will end their terms on the Board and will not stand for re-election.
Karen Francis joined General Motors in 1996 as Chrevolet’s brand manager before switching to the Oldsmobile brand — leaving the company in April 2000.
Francis was then the VP of Consumer Connect at Ford Motor Company from April 2001 to August 2002.
Zhe Wei was CEO of the Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba from 2006 to 2011. The investor founded Vision Knight Capital, managing over 16 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) in assets.
Francesca Gamboni, who joined Volvo in 2023, and and Xiaojie (Laura) Shen, are standing for re-election at the AGM.
Gamboni is currently Volvo‘s Chief Manufacturing and Supply Chain Officer, and previously served as Senior VP of Global Supply Chain for Stellantis from 2016 to 2022.
The executive was also in the Renault Group from 2007 to 2013, where she was VP of Supply Chain for the three last years.
Xiaojie Shen joined the Board of Directors in October 2024. She began her career with Volkswagen Group China in 2007, where she served as Vice President for Special Projects.
Shen later became Managing Director and Board Member of Volkswagen Group Import (China), overseeing brands including Volkswagen, Bentley, and Lamborghini.
Besides Geely‘s Quan Zhang, Cynthia Dubin is also being recommended for election. Cynthia Dubin is Independent Non-Executive Director of ICE Futures Europe, owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc.
The Board is also composed of Karl-Thomas Neumann, former Opel CEO, Christine Gorjanc, Lead Director for Juniper Networks, and Polestar‘s CEO Michael Lohscheller.
Automotive industry veteran Winfried Vahland continues to act as Chair of the Board.
Last month, Polestar reported its first quarter financial results, posting an 84% rise in first-quarter revenue and a gross margin of 6.8%. The increase was largely driven by a 76% increase in retail sales to “an estimated 12,304” vehicles.
