Fortress Value Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group, added Maryanne Lavan and Connie Duckworth to its board of directors at its merger, MP Materials._x000D_
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Fortress Value Acquisition added Maryanne Lavan, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Lockheed Martin, and Connie Duckworth, former partner and managing director of Goldman Sachs, to the board of directors of MP Materials, which will be the combined company upon the consummation of FVAC’s previously announced merger with MP Materials._x000D_
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Lavan and Duckworth join other incoming board members James Litinsky, chairman and CEO of MP Materials; general Richard Myers, former chairman of the joint chiefs of Staff; Drew McKnight, CEO of FVAC and managing partner of the credit funds at Fortress Investment Group; Randy Weisenburger, former CFO of Omnicom Group, and Dan Gold, CEO of QVT Financial, as part of a board of directors with diverse and complementary backgrounds in areas critical to MP Materials’ business._x000D_
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“We are thrilled to have Maryanne and Connie join our board of directors,” Litinsky said. “Maryanne’s experience as a member of Lockheed Martin’s senior management and Connie’s deep financial and operational expertise will be immensely valuable as we transform this critical, world-class asset into a strong industrial enterprise that will onshore jobs and power the growth of industries central to our national and economic security.”_x000D_
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“MP Materials is uniquely positioned to restore a sustainably-sourced rare earths supply chain to the United States, which will provide substantial strategic and competitive benefits to some of our fastest-growing and most technologically advanced industries, including the defense sector,” Lavan said. “I am pleased to join the board at this important time in the company’s development.”_x000D_
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“I look forward to working with the management team and fellow board members in guiding the disciplined execution of MP Materials’ growth strategies and broadening relationships with government and industries vital to our nation’s economic future,” Duckworth said. “I am energized not only by the business potential of MP Materials, but by the clear benefits the company’s success will provide for our national interests more broadly.”_x000D_
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Lavan is the senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, a global security and aerospace company principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services operating in four business segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems and Space. In this role, she is responsible for the legal affairs and law department of Lockheed Martin, including serving as counsel to its senior leadership and Board of Directors. She previously served as the vice president of corporate internal audit for Lockheed Martin, providing independent assessments of governance, internal controls, and risk management._x000D_
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Duckworth is a former partner and managing director of Goldman Sachs. She was named partner in 1990, the first woman sales and trading partner in the firm’s history. After Goldman Sachs, Ms. Duckworth founded ARZU in 2004 to empower destitute women weavers in rural Afghanistan and served pro bono as its chairman and CEO until its merger with UK-based Turquoise Mountain in 2019. Duckworth is a trustee of Equity Residential in Chicago and a director of Steelcase Inc. Grand Rapids, Michigan. Previously, she served on the boards of directors of Northwestern Mutual, Russell Investment Group, Nuveen Investments, Smurfit Stone Container Corporation, and DNP Select Income Fund. In her philanthropic work, Duckworth is a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, an overseer of The Wharton School, and a member of the International Board of Advisors of the University of Texas at Austin. She serves on the Board of NorthShore University HealthSystem, in Evanston, Illinois, where she was the first and only woman chairman of the Board. She is a founding member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Bush Institute’s Women’s Initiative Policy Advisory Council in Dallas._x000D_
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On July 15, 2020, FVAC announced a definitive agreement to merge with MP Materials. Upon completion of the transaction (expected Q4 of 2020), the combined company will be named MP Materials Corp. and will remain NYSE-listed under the new ticker symbol “MP”. On August 27, 2020, FVAC filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”), which includes a preliminary proxy statement/consent solicitation/prospectus in connection with the proposed merger. The transaction has been approved by the FVAC Board of Directors and remains subject to shareholder approval, the Registration Statement being declared effective by the SEC, and other customary closing conditions._x000D_
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MP Materials is the owner and operator of the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mining and Processing facility.
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