US eVTOL developer Archer Aviation has appointed Tom Anderson as chief operating officer, urban air mobility. In his role, Anderson will oversee and direct Archer's planned UAM operations, primarily focused on establishing its commercial operating service.

As Archer forges ahead towards a new era of sustainable air mobility, Anderson's deep experience in airline management, operations and fleet maintenance will help the company commercialise a UAM service utilising the eVTOL aircraft Archer is developing.

Anderson comes to Archer after three years at Breeze Airways, where he served as chief operating officer. Prior to that, he spent five years at ATR Aircraft as senior vice president, programmes and customer services. He also previously held high-level positions at Airbus, Virgin America and Boeing, and was part of the initial launch team that took JetBlue from concept to its first flights.

“I've spent my entire career focused on developing and scaling commercial aviation operations. I'm thrilled to join Archer at this pivotal juncture to help the company continue to innovate and redefine the future of transportation,” says Anderson. “I am looking forward to advancing the company towards its commercial launch, capitalising on the company's strategic partnerships and introducing the public to the benefits of urban air mobility.”

“Archer is dedicated to deepening its bench of aviation's best and brightest talent,” adds founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. “We're thrilled to continue this trend by welcoming Tom to the team. For urban air mobility to become a reality, it's critical that we focus not only on building and certifying a great product, but also on creating the ecosystem within which our aircraft can operate. Tom's appointment moves Archer one step closer towards bringing urban air mobility to the masses, and transforming cities for the better.”

The company is to be included in the Russell 2000 and 3000 indexes at the conclusion of the 2022 Russell indexes annual reconstitution, effective after the US market opens on 27 June, 2022.

The annual Russell indexes reconstitution captures the 4,000 largest US stocks as of 6 May, ranking them by total market capitalisation. Membership in the US all-cap Russell 3000 index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000 index or small-cap Russell 2000 index, as well as in the appropriate growth and value style indexes. FTSE Russell determines membership for its Russell indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalisation rankings and style attributes.

“We are pleased to be included in the Russell 2000 and 3000 indexes, a key milestone for our business since becoming a publicly traded company in September 2021,” says Goldstein. “I know that our inclusion in the index will not only help to broaden our visibility with the investment community but to demonstrate our continued commitment to creating value for our shareholders as we move forward with our vision of commercialising our eVTOL aircraft as expeditiously as possible.”

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for active investment strategies. Approximately $12 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell's US indexes.