Vertical Aerospace (NYSE: EVTL) has appointed Fabrice Brégier as chair of its board of directors, effective September 21, 2026, according to a company statement.

Brégier previously served as chief executive of Airbus Commercial Aircraft from 2012 to 2016 and as chief operating officer of Airbus Group and president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft from 2017 to 2018. He also held the role of president and CEO of Eurocopter, now known as Airbus Helicopters, and served as CEO of MBDA, a European missile systems company. From 2018 to 2024, he was president of Palantir Technologies France.

Brégier currently serves as a non-executive director of Safran SA and ENGIE SA, and as non-executive chair of SCOR SE.

Ben Story, who served as interim chair since May, will remain a board member following Brégier's appointment.

The appointment comes as Vertical works toward certification and commercialization of its all-electric Valo eVTOL aircraft and pursues hybrid-electric, autonomous, and defence applications. The company has approximately 1,500 pre-orders for Valo from customers including American Airlines, Avolon, and Japan Airlines.

Recent company developments include a collaboration with Near Earth Autonomy on autonomous flight systems, integration testing of a hybrid propulsion system, confirmed interest from the UK Ministry of Defence, and participation in the Honeywell Aerospace-led Project VERTI-GO airspace integration program in Europe.