Gary B. Smith to be Appointed to Planet's Board of Directors
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about Earth, today announced that its board of directors has nominated Gary B. Smith, President and CEO of Ciena, as a Class I director for election at the upcoming Annual Meeting.
"Gary's expansive career and leadership across technology, operations and sales is invaluable to Planet's continued growth as a data platform company," said Will Marshall, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of Planet. "As Planet and the space industry at large continue to evolve and mature, ensuring board alignment with our business objectives is critical – and we know Gary's expertise will be instrumental in helping us reach our goals."
"I am honored to be nominated to join Planet's Board of Directors at such an exciting time as the company drives growth and bottom-line performance," said Gary B. Smith. "What drew me to Planet, like so many, was its mission: to use its deep and unique dataset and collaboration to drive meaningful impact. I look forward to contributing to Planet's continued success and its vital role in shaping our understanding of the world."
Gary brings a wealth of experience to Planet's board, as President, CEO, and Board Member of Ciena, a global industry leader in networking systems, services, and software. He previously held senior executive roles at Intelsat; Cray Communications, Inc.; and Case Communications Group. Appointed by former President Barack Obama, Smith served on the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) from 2011 to 2023. He also previously served on the boards of directors for Commvault and Avaya, was the Chair of the Wake Forest Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Council, and currently participates in initiatives with the Center for Corporate Innovation.
This announcement follows the recent addition of General John W. "Jay" Raymond to Planet's board in March 2025. As the first Chief of Space Operations of the U.S. Space Force, and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Raymond brings unparalleled expertise in government space operations, underscoring Planet's commitment to working closely with its U.S. government customers.
With the addition of these two new board members, Heidi Roizen will not be standing for re-election and Niccolo de Masi will be stepping down at the upcoming Annual Meeting in July. Heidi has served as a director of Planet since March 2018 and as a director of Planet Labs PBC since December 2021. Niccolo joined Planet's board in 2021 following its public listing. Planet extends its sincere gratitude to both Heidi and Niccolo for their dedicated service during pivotal moments in Planet's history and their valuable contributions to the company's growth.
Gary is expected to be elected as a board member at Planet's upcoming Annual Meeting of Stockholders on July 10.
About Planet Labs PBC
Planet is a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven by a mission to image the world every day, and make change visible, accessible and actionable. Founded in 2010 by three NASA scientists, Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to approximately 1,000 customers, comprising the world's leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to simply and effectively derive unique value from satellite imagery. Planet is a public benefit corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange as PL. To learn more visit www.planet.com and follow us on X (formerly Twitter) or tune in to HBO's ‘Wild Wild Space.'
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Planet's future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "intends," "target," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern Planet's expectations, strategy, priorities, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the election of Gary B. Smith to Planet's board of directors, Planet's growth opportunities, and Planet's expectations regarding financial and operating results. Planet's expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including risks related to the macroeconomic environment and risks regarding Planet's ability to forecast Planet's performance due to Planet's limited operating history. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Planet's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including Planet's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and any subsequent filings with the SEC that Planet may make. All forward-looking statements reflect Planet's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Planet undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances, except as may be required by law.
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Planet Press
Claire Bentley Dale
press@planet.com
Planet Investor Relations
Cleo Palmer-Poroner
ir@planet.com