2024-01-16 13:33:15
Lex Hoefsloot, founder and CEO of solar car maker Lightyear, is taking a step back. Bonna Newman gets behind the wheel. The change in management follows a major investment by South Korean companies in Lightyear and a bankruptcy.
Hoefsloot founded Lightyear with some fellow students at the Technical University in Eindhoven in 2016. The company’s goal was to produce cars that might run on solar energy.
Although the first car rolled out of the factory last year, Lightyear also ran into financial problems. The company went bankrupt in early 2023, but made a restart in April.
And in late 2023, Lightyear received a major investment from two South Korean companies. Lightyear will focus more on solar cell technology for the automotive industry and less on producing its own cars.
Two new directors
The new top woman is the German-American Bonna Newman. She has been on board at Lightyear as Head of Product since early 2023 and has also worked at several companies involved in solar energy in recent years.
The new financial CEO is the Dutchman Marnix Borghouts. Hoefsloot remains on board. He says he will focus on the company’s long-term plans. “As Lightyear matures, my skills are best deployed in a different role.” He will focus, among other things, on finding partners for collaborations.
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