Carl Bass to Join Ouster as Chairman of the Board of Directors
Ouster, Inc. announced that Carl Bass will serve as Chairman of the Board following its business combination with Colonnade Acquisition Corp. (CLA). With over 24 years at Autodesk, Bass aims to leverage his extensive experience to enhance Ouster's growth in the burgeoning lidar market, expected to reach $48 billion by 2030. He emphasized the transformative potential of Ouster's lidar technology across various industries. The merger is anticipated to close in the first half of 2021, subject to customary conditions, with a virtual investor day scheduled for February 22, 2021.
- Carl Bass's extensive experience in robotics and automation strengthens Ouster's leadership.
- The lidar market is projected to reach $48 billion by 2030, presenting substantial growth opportunities.
- Bass's belief in lidar as a fundamental technology indicates a robust future demand for Ouster's products.
- Concerns may arise regarding continuity and experience gaps during the transition in leadership.
Ouster, Inc. (“Ouster”), a leading provider of high-resolution digital lidar sensors for the industrial automation, smart infrastructure, robotics, and automotive industries, today announced that Carl Bass has agreed to act as Chairman of the Board of Directors following the closing of Ouster’s business combination transaction with Colonnade Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: CLA) (“CLA”). Bass will bring extensive experience from a broad array of robotics and automation enterprises, and will leverage his expertise to help Ouster scale its organization to address the growing lidar market, which Ouster anticipates to reach
“Ouster’s disruptive technology is nothing short of transformational. Driven by its disruptive, patented digital lidar, Ouster is a leader that can address the full potential market opportunity for lidar across industrial, smart infrastructure, robotics, and automotive,” Mr. Bass said. “Joining the Board of Directors is an opportunity I couldn’t pass on. I believe lidar can be a fundamental sensing technology as ubiquitous as cameras, and Ouster is already taking its digital lidar far beyond automotive into verticals with tremendous near-term commercial demand.”
“Carl’s industry leadership and operating experience scaling market leading global businesses will help propel us through our next phase of growth,” said Angus Pacala, co-founder and CEO of Ouster. “There is a huge market opportunity for Ouster, and we’re excited to have Carl’s counsel and expertise, but also his passion for our technology and the solutions we deliver.”
Prior to joining Ouster, Bass spent 24 years at Autodesk, where he held a series of executive leadership positions including chief technology officer, chief operations officer, and CEO from 2006 until 2017. Bass previously co-founded Ithaca Software, which was acquired by Autodesk in 1993.
Bass serves as the lead director for Zendesk and as the chairman of the board for Bright Machines and Velo3D. Bass also serves on the boards of Arris Composites, Box, Built Robotics, Formlabs, nTopology, Oqton and Planet Labs. Bass also serves on the advisory boards of Cornell Computing and Information Science, UC Berkeley School of Information and UC Berkeley College of Engineering, and holds a position on the board of trustees of California College of the Arts. Bass holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Cornell University.
In December, Ouster entered into a definitive merger agreement with CLA in a transaction that would result in Ouster being listed on the NYSE. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The companies will host a virtual investor day on February 22, 2021 featuring Mr. Bass, industry expert Dr. Stephen Fantone and Ouster management, available on Ouster’s investors’ webpage at https://investors.ouster.com.
About Ouster
Ouster invented its digital lidar in 2015 and is a leading manufacturer of high-resolution digital lidar sensors used throughout the industrial automation, smart infrastructure, robotics, and automotive industries. Ouster’s sensors are reliable, compact, affordable and highly customizable, laying the foundation for digital lidar ubiquity across endless applications and industries. Already hundreds of customers have incorporated Ouster lidar sensors in current products or those in development for imminent commercial release. Ouster has previously announced a merger agreement with CLA, a special purpose acquisition company, that would result in Ouster becoming a publicly listed company. For more information, visit www.ouster.com, or connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
This document relates to a proposed business combination (the “Business Combination”) between CLA and Ouster. This document does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed Business Combination and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the Business Combination. In connection with the proposed Business Combination, CLA filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 22, 2020, which included a proxy statement/prospectus of CLA. CLA’s shareholders, Ouster’s stockholders and other interested persons are advised to read the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus included in the registration statement and the amendments thereto and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed in connection with the proposed Business Combination, as these materials will contain important information about Ouster, CLA and the Business Combination. When available, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials for the proposed Business Combination will be mailed to stockholders of Ouster and shareholders of CLA as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed Business Combination. CLA shareholders and Ouster stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the preliminary proxy statement, the definitive proxy statement and other document
FAQ
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