Subscribe
The information you submit will be stored and used to communicate with you about your interest in Commercial UAV News. To understand more about how we use and store information, please refer to our privacy policy.
CUAV Keynote Continued: Accelerating Commercial Viability and Market Demand
Thursday, October 17, 2024 | 10 AM PST | 1 PM EST | 6 PM BST
At Commercial UAV Expo 2024, a panel of industry veterans took part in the opening keynote to offer insights on where firms should focus NOW to create greater market demand, but time constraints limited the depth and scope of their conversation. That's why we're getting them back together in order to more fully explore:
- How do we continue to grow market demand to witness the true scaling of this exciting industry
- Where market demand truly is today
- How do we make a business case for investment, address supply chain issues, competition and standardization
Come with questions as our reassembled panel of experts explores all of these topics through the different lenses of aviation, technology, and financial capital.
Speakers
Eric Brock
CEO - Ondas Autonomous Systems
Eric Brock is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ondas Holdings (Nasdaq: ONDS), a leading provider of private wireless connectivity and autonomous drone technology platforms and services for critical government and industrial markets. He is an entrepreneur with over 30 years’ experience spanning global banking and investing and his leadership role with Ondas.
Eric directs the growth strategy for Ondas’ business units including Ondas Autonomous Systems (OAS) where he is CEO. OAS is a leading provider of autonomous drone solutions providing aerial security and intelligence through its market leading technology platforms – the Optimus System and Iron Drone Raider. Optimus and Iron Drone are marketed worldwide to defense, homeland security, government and commercial markets through wholly owned subsidiaries American Robotics and Airobotics.
Erik Mintz
Director - Mobility Infrastructure Mitsubishi Electric
With 30+ years of experience in tech, Erik has led software development and product management teams at IBM and Constant Contact. His previous software startup was acquired by Constant Contact. He is currently ‘Director, Infrastructure Mobility’ at Mitsubishi Electric US. Erik holds an MBA from MIT and a Master’s in Civil Engineering from Florida Atlantic University.
Jon Damush
President and CEO - uAvionix Corporation
Jon brings over 30 years of extensive aviation technology experience and executive leadership, building upon his technical background in engineering, software development and systems integration. Most recently he was the Chief Executive Officer at Iris Automation but also led new business ventures at Boeing NeXT. Before that, he was Chief Growth Officer at Insitu, Inc., a Boeing subsidiary, developing novel aircraft and UAS innovation including detect-and-avoid. He was also a Boeing executive liaison and board observer to SkyGrid, LLC, a joint venture between Boeing and SparkCognition.
Ken Stewart
CEO and President - NUAIR
Ken Stewart has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of NUAIR since Dec 2020. Prior to joining NUAIR, Stewart held several leadership positions at General Electric including CEO of AiRXOS, a GE aviation company, where he led innovation, development, and commercialization of Unmanned Traffic Management services, and Managing Director at GE Ventures overseeing the new business creation function for GE. Prior to that Mr. Stewart served in executive roles with several venture capital and private equity-backed companies commercializing and scaling pre-revenue start-ups and transforming organizations for growth. Mr. Stewart also serves on the board of New York Aviation Management Association (NYAMA) as well as the Commercial Drone Alliance, (CDA) organizations that work with federal policymakers and industry stakeholders to help create relevant rules to scale commercial UAS and Advanced Air Mobility operations.
Moderator
Gretchen West
Membership Director - Commercial Drone Alliance
Widely recognized as a pioneer in the commercial drone market and other emerging technologies, Gretchen has served in leadership roles in the uncrewed systems industry for 2 decades. Currently she continues to support the Commercial Drone Alliance, and she serves as a Client Development Manager and UAS Advisor at Hogan Lovells, LLP. Her previous experiences include serving as the President and CEO of Schiebel Aircraft, Inc. (US), Senior Director at Hogan Lovells US LLP, Co-Founder/Co-Executive Director of the Commercial Drone Alliance, Vice President of Business Development and Regulatory Affairs at DroneDeploy, and Executive Vice President of the Association for Unmanned Systems International (AUVSI).
Gretchen served as the AUVSI member on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) UAS Study Group, and on the advisory boards of the Commercial UAV Expo, UAVUS, Aerobo, Skyward, and Nightingale Security.
Gretchen was the 2019 Recipient of the Commercial Drone Alliance Champion Award and the 2017 Recipient of the 2017 Women to Watch, UAS Influencer Award.
Gretchen has been interviewed by over 100 print and TV media outlets including NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Fortune, Forbes, Politico, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post and National Public Radio. She has also testified before a congressional panel, presented at congressional briefings and has presented keynote addresses and panel presentations at over 150 industry conferences and events across the globe.
