has served on our board of directors since January 2021. Mr. Wiese has also served as Chairman of the board of QSV Operations LLC since its inception in September 2018. Mr. Wiese has 23 years of professional experience in the automotive industry, including more than 15 years as a top management consultant, advising clients from the automotive industry in strategic and financial turnaround matters. Mr. Wiese has served in multiple roles at Volkswagen AG, most recently as Head of Volkswagen Group M&A, Investment Advisory, and Partnerships since January 2020, Head of Industrial Cooperations and Partnerships from June 2018 to December 2019, Head of Group Battery Strategy from June 2016 to December 2019, and Corporate Strategy/Head of Performance Improvement from March 2016 to May 2018. Prior to his service at Volkswagen AG, Mr. Wiese served as Senior Director and Member of the German Management Team at Alix Partners GmbH, a consulting firm, from March 2007 to February 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Wiese served as a Principal and Member of the Automotive Leadership team at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants GmbH, a consulting firm, from April 1999 to March 2007. Mr. Wiese holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
We believe Mr. Wiese is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his broad investment advisory and strategic experience, along with his long-term experience in the automotive industry.
The nominating and corporate governance committee of our board of directors identifies, reviews and makes recommendations of candidates to serve on our board of directors, and considers director qualifications that include, without limitation, diversity factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, differences in professional background, education, age and geography, as well as other individual qualities and attributes that contribute to the total mix of viewpoints and experience represented on our board.
The following matrix highlights key skills, experiences and attributes possessed by our directors which our board of directors believes are important to our business and industry. If a director is not listed under a particular skill, experience or attribute, that does not mean that such director does not possess it or is unable to contribute to the decision-making process in that area.
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Knowledge, Skills and Experience | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Public company board experience and corporate governance | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | |
Executive experience | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | |
Battery and energy technology | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | |
Automotive industry | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | |
Technology development | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | |
Manufacturing, scale-up, operations | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | |
Financial | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | |
Risk management | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | |
HR, compensation | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | |
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Asian/Pacific Islander | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | |
Black/African American | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Caucasian | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | |
Hispanic/Latino | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Native American | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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Male | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | ● | |
Female | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | ● | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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Years* | | | 12 | | | | 2 | | | | 2 | | �� | | <1 | | | | <1 | | | | 7 | | | | <1 | | | | 2 | | | | 11 | | | | 10 | | | | 2 | | | | 1 | |
* | Includes board service on both QuantumScape Corporation and Legacy QuantumScape, rounded to the nearest whole year |
Our business and affairs are organized under the direction of our board of directors, which currently consists of twelve (12) directors, ten (10) of whom are independent under the listing standards of the NYSE. Jagdeep Singh serves as Chairman of our board of directors. The primary responsibilities of our board of directors are to provide oversight, strategic guidance, counseling and direction to our management. Our board of directors meets on a regular basis and additionally as required. At each annual meeting of stockholders, each director will be elected for a term expiring at our next annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.
In accordance with the terms of our amended and restated bylaws (“Bylaws”), each director, including a director elected to fill a vacancy, shall hold office until the expiration of the term for which elected and until such director’s successor is elected and qualified or until such director’s earlier death, resignation or removal.
Any director may be removed from office by our stockholders as provided in Section 141(k) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”).
Role of Board of Directors in Risk Oversight
Risk is inherent with every business, and we face a number of risks, including strategic, financial, business and operational, legal and compliance and reputational risks. We have designed and implemented processes to manage risk in our operations. Management is responsible for the
management of risks the company faces, while one of the key functions of our board of directors is informed oversight of our risk management process. Our board of directors does not currently have or anticipate having a standing risk management committee, but instead administers this oversight function directly through our board of directors as a whole, as well as through various standing committees of our board of directors that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. In particular, our board of directors is responsible for monitoring and assessing strategic risk exposure and our audit committee has the responsibility to consider and discuss our major financial risk exposures and the steps
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