Planet Announces Public Board with the Addition of Niccolo de Masi

We are pleased to share that Niccolo de Masi, Director of dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV, will be joining our Board of Directors after we go public!

Earlier this year, Planet entered into a definitive merger agreement with dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV (NYSE:DMYQ), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), to become a publicly-traded company. The addition of Mr. de Masi provides another accomplished expert to Planet’s board to help us grow after going public under the ticker PL on the New York Stock Exchange, and rounds out Planet’s planned board for our transition to a public company. 

Mr. de Masi will be joining recent additions Ita Brennan (CFO, Arista Networks) and Vijaya Gadde (Chief Legal Officer, Twitter). These three executives join Planet’s four continuing board members Carl Bass (former CEO, Autodesk), Heidi Roizen (Partner, Threshold Ventures); and Planet’s founders Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler, in providing extensive expertise across technology, operations, and public markets at this important time in Planet’s history.

In his career, Niccolo de Masi has completed over 25 mergers and acquisitions and served on the boards of nine public companies. He currently serves on the board of three companies that also went public with SPACs in the dMY Technology Group, including Rush Street Interactive, Genius Sports Group and IonQ. His wealth of experience in taking companies public will be a vital asset to Planet in our next critical stages. With deep knowledge of Planet’s product potential, Mr. de Masi will provide invaluable insight as we become a leading data-as-a-service provider for earth observation data. 

“Niccolo has an exceptional talent for taking companies public and we have learned a great deal working closely with him over the past year. Niccolo immediately saw Planet for its full value as a data subscription business with a large market and huge implications in sustainability. With Ita, Vijaya and now Niccolo joining Carl, Heidi, Robbie and me, our board will have all of the capabilities and experience needed for a public company,” said Planet CEO and co-founder Will Marshall.   

Mr. de Masi brings a vast array of skills and knowledge to the Planet Board with a proven track record in deep tech and mobile products. Further, he has extensive expertise in creating software-hardware ecosystems, which will prove crucial as we dramatically scale our user-friendly Earth data platform and advance our satellite technology in the coming years. With the finalization of our SPAC process, Planet will garner the resources necessary to further accelerate their operational growth and provide vital datasets for the global economic transformation.

“I believe in Planet’s ability to not just change the space industry, but change how all of our economies account for resources, goods, and services across the globe. By going public, Planet is going to have the ability to reach its full potential, providing critical earth insights, automated change detection, and unparalleled amounts of Big Earth data to the world. I am thrilled to be a part of this team,” said Niccolo de Masi. 

Mr. de Masi received his B.A. and M.Sci degrees in physics from the University of Cambridge and has held prominent leadership roles at a number of mobile companies including Glu Mobile, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLUU) (“Glu”) and Essential Products, Inc. He served more than 10 years with Glu, a leading developer and publisher of video games for mobile phones. As the previous CEO and current Chairman of the Board of Glu, he has been instrumental in developing the company’s freemium gaming model and initiating some of the world’s first mobile virtual and augmented reality experiences. Prior to Glu, he served as the President and CEO of Hands-On Mobile, CEO of Monstermob Group PLC (formerly LSE: MOB), and held Board memberships on Xura, Inc. (formerly Nasdaq: MESG) and Resideo Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: REZI).