Aerial Cities 2024: Introducing 15 New Expert Speakers

This November 13th-14th, London will host DroneTalks’ Aerial Cities 2024 conference, connecting executive-level stakeholders to unlock the integration of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and drone technologies into our cities worldwide. 

This year, the exclusive VIP event aims to create cross-functional collaborations and share information about the needs and capabilities of other industries, focusing on revenue generation and profitability. The ability to speak in person about these topics enables all stakeholders to connect about existing infrastructure and how this can be adapted for the widescale use of drones in the future. 

Aerial Cities aims to promote conversations between:

• AAM and drone decision-makers
• CAAs
• City and government officials
• Drone service users 
• Investors

By connecting these stakeholders during the event, we can foster an environment where everyone can begin to understand each other’s capabilities and move toward the future of aerial cities. If you haven’t seen our previous speaker announcements, click here to view our last two blog posts! 

Let us introduce you to our newest additions to our panels this year: 

1. Marcel Kägi, Director of Aviation Policy and Strategy Section, Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA)
2. Giovanni Di Antonio, Director, Technological Innovation at Italian Civil Aviation Authority
3. Philip Buchan, Chief Operating Officer at Cyberhawk
4. Larissa Haas, UAS Policy Coordinator, Strategy and Innovation Unit, Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA)
5. Daniel García-Monteavaro, Head of Drone Business Development Department at ENAIRE
6. Paul Kennedy, Head of Aviation Infrastructure for the Irish Aviation Authority
7. Carlos Poveda, CEO and Founder of Crisalion Mobility
8. Darryl Abelscroft, Future Safety and Innovation, Civil Aviation Authority
9. Louisa Smith, Chief Aviation Officer at Apian 
10. Mark Watson, Head of UTM Service Integration at NATS
11. Diana Cooper, Chief Partnerships & Policy Officer at Supernal
12. Soo Soon Teong, SVP & Head, Unmanned Air Systems Biz Unit at ST Engineering
13. Olaf Weber, CTO at Hansadrone
14. Jordi Salvador, CEO at BCN Drone Center

 

Marcel Kägi, Director of Aviation Policy and Strategy Section, Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA)

Marcel Kägi is director of aviation policy and strategy at the Federal Office of Civil Aviation of Switzerland (FOCA), the Swiss CAA. He co-leads the FOCA’s aviation policy and strategy division, which is in charge of regulatory, environmental, economic and international matters, as well as new technologies, such as drones and UTM. Marcel coordinates and represents FOCA’s interests in national and international regulatory and policy-making efforts in these areas. In his previous positions, he built a dedicated innovation and digitalisation unit at FOCA and was in charge of global aviation safety regulations. Marcel holds a Master’s degree in political science and law from the University of Bern, Switzerland, and an Executive Master's in Public Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK.

Giovanni Di Antonio, Director, Technological Innovation at Italian Civil Aviation Authority

Giovanni Di Antonio, FRAeS, is the Director of the Technological Innovation Department at ENAC, the Italian Civil Aviation Authority. He oversees spaceport development, commercial suborbital transportation, and the development of concepts for Higher Airspace Operations (HAO).

He is currently serving his second term as the Chair of JARUS (the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems), to which he has contributed continuously since 2013, particularly in airworthiness, risk management, and operations concepts.

With over 20 years of experience in the defence and aviation sectors, he is an EASA expert with extensive expertise in airworthiness and UAS regulation, authorisation, and operations. He has been crucial in developing the National Strategic Plan for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and ENAC’s Regulatory Sandbox guidelines.

Philip Buchan, Chief Operating Officer at Cyberhawk

Phil is the COO at Cyberhawk. Founded in 2008, Cyberhawk™ was the first company in the world to use drones to inspect industrial assets. Today, the Cyberhawk team continues to lead the way in inspecting critical assets, including electrical grids, power generation sites, oil and gas structures and in the geospatial analysis of industrial construction projects, having completed projects for more than 300 customers across 40 countries. Using Cyberhawk’s intuitive, cloud-based visualisation software, iHawk™, we consolidate diverse inspection and geospatial data sources to provide a single source of truth for assets and translate these findings into actions.

Phil is part of the founding management team at Cyberhawk, growing the business from 4 people in a single room in Scotland to 200 people across offices in the UK, US & Middle East. Phil has held multiple positions during this growth, from leading the Finance & HR function to leading the Sales & Marketing function to his current Chief Operating Officer position. Phil has an MBA from Nanyang Business School in Singapore and Chicago Booth School of Business, is a Chartered Engineer with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and MSc in Structural Engineering and has previously worked as a Consultant Engineer.

Larissa Haas, UAS Policy Coordinator, Strategy and Innovation Unit, Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA)

Larissa Haas has worked at the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), the Swiss CAA, since 2020. In this position, she coordinates and represents the regulatory and policy-making processes for innovative aviation technologies, such as drones and U-space. Larissa holds a Master’s in political science and sociology from the Universities of Zurich and Lucerne, Switzerland. She also has an advanced certificate in regulatory processes for innovative technologies and impact analysis from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH).

Daniel García-Monteavaro, Head of Drone Business Development Department at ENAIRE

Daniel García-Monteavaro is an Aeronautical Engineer at ENAIRE, Spain's public Air Navigation Service Provider. He has been in the air navigation sector for over 20 years and has been the Head of the Drone Business Development Department since 2018. He coordinates the definition, deployment, and certification of ENAIRE as CISP and USSP and participates in national and European U-space and IAM projects.

Paul Kennedy, Head of Aviation Infrastructure for the Irish Aviation Authority

Paul Kennedy is the Head of Aviation Infrastructure at the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), with over 30 years of expertise in the aviation sector. He is a licensed air traffic controller and commercial pilot and holds a Master of Science degree in Human Factors and Safety Assessment in Aeronautics from Cranfield University. In his current role, Paul oversees the regulation and supervision of critical aviation areas, including Air Traffic Management, Air Navigation Services, Airspace, Aerodromes, and U-space/UAS Geo Zones.

Beyond his leadership at the IAA, Paul plays a crucial role in enabling the implementation of global aviation policy. He chairs the ICAO European Regional Working Group on Aerodrome Operations (RWGAO) and the European Union National Supervisory Authority Coordination Platform (Transversal Working Group). Additionally, he serves as vice chair of the ICAO North Atlantic Safety Oversight Group.

Carlos Poveda, CEO and Founder of Crisalion Mobility

Carlos Poveda is an entrepreneur, CEO and founder of the Umiles Group, which integrates Crisalion Mobility, Umiles and 4UJet. Crisalion Mobility is a leading company in Spain with an international presence. It offers advanced, efficient, and sustainable solutions for air and ground mobility and is already transforming the rules of global mobility. Umiles is the leader in our country in unmanned aerial systems that improve people’s lives in areas such as engineering, leisure, security, training, rescue, health, and agriculture, among others.

An aviation pilot, flight instructor and operational safety expert, Carlos Poveda has completed his aeronautical experience with business and economic training, having completed the SMP (Senior Management Program) at IE Business School, as well as the SEP (Stanford Executive Program) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, one of the most renowned universities in the world. He has completed his training with different international experiences in recent years.

Darryl Abelscroft, Future Safety and Innovation, Civil Aviation Authority

Darryl works within the Future Safety and Innovation division in the UK Civil Aviation Authority, leading the team in developing the approach to regulating eVTOL, hydrogen aircraft, and drones. He is on secondment from the UK Department for Transport, where he was responsible for creating the Future of Flight Action Plan Jet Zero Strategy and overseeing the Department’s role in the UK space strategy. He has worked on strategy development in government for over ten years, with a background in energy and climate change policy in the private third sector.

Louisa Smith, Chief Aviation Officer at Apian 

Louisa is the Chief Aviation Officer at Apian, a healthcare logistics company founded by NHS doctors. Apian’s platform seamlessly integrates healthcare and aviation systems to create a fully autonomous, on-demand delivery network, enhancing patient outcomes and improving staff well-being. Before this, Louisa served as the Head of Research and Development at NATS and has a background as a Military Air Traffic Control Officer. She now leverages her extensive aviation expertise to drive innovation in the healthcare sector.

Mark Watson, Head of UTM Service Integration at NATS

Mark Watson is part of the Future Flight team at NATS and specialises in airspace integration of new and existing airspace users. Mark works with a range of companies in this space to help achieve their flight operations whilst identifying the future role of NATS in the emerging uncrewed economy, mainly the services it should provide as an ANSP. 

Mark’s current focus is as the product lead for ‘NATS OpenAir’ – NATS’ proposed Flight Information Management System for its regulated service provision for integrated traffic management. He is a prominent voice in the UTM industry, representing NATS on various government and institutional advisory panels within the UK and internationally and as a founding member of the Global UTM Association.

Click here to see our recent interview with Mark from Amsterdam Drone Week 2024!

Diana Cooper, Chief Partnerships & Policy Officer at Supernal

Diana Cooper is the Chief Partnerships & Policy Officer for Supernal, a Hyundai company. She is responsible for leading and overseeing the implementation of Supernal’s ecosystem partnerships and government relations strategy and driving public acceptance for Advanced Air Mobility in key markets, including North America, Europe, the UK, APAC and the Middle East.

Diana is a member of the World Economic Forum UAM Working Group. She also serves on the European Commission Alliance for Zero Emissions Aviation.

Diana has testified before the US Congress on aviation policy and regulations and delivered guest lectures at Stanford, Georgetown, Duke, Columbia, and NYU. She holds a BA in Politics & Governance, an MA in Globalisation Studies, and a JD in Law & Technology. In 2023, Diana received the Leadership Award from Women and Drones: Women to Watch and is featured in the book Girl to Boss: Advice for Girls from 50 of America’s Most Successful Women.

Soo Soon Teong, SVP & Head, Unmanned Air Systems Biz Unit at ST Engineering

Soo Soon Teong is heading ST Engineering’s UAS business for commercial and defence markets. He has over 25 years of aviation experience in significant modifications of manned aircraft (such as Passenger-to-Freighter conversions) and developing bespoke solutions for unmanned aircraft systems.

Under his leadership, the DroNet solution was launched in 2018 and was granted the first Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) medium-risk permit in Singapore in 2022. Today, DroNet has accumulated over 18,000 flight sorties and 6000 hours, and it is widely used for BVLOS flight operations for reservoir monitoring, parcel deliveries, public security, and powerline inspections.

We spoke with Soo Soon at Amsterdam Drone Week 2024; check out the full interview here! 

Olaf Weber, CTO at Hansadrone

Olaf Weber is passionate about innovation and new technologies. He is the CTO of Hansadrone and drives the overall product definition and development. Trained as an aerospace engineer, he has a 25-year track record in product management, software development, and tech entrepreneurship. Olaf co-founded two startup companies in the mobile computing area and worked for industry-leading companies in navigation technology and healthcare IT. He was involved in developing top-grossing mobile apps and the first personal digital assistant device for one-hand use. He is also a passionate inventor, holding several international patents.

Jordi Salvador, CEO at BCN Drone Center

Jordi has focused his entire professional career on the UAS industry. He started with university R+D projects during the last years of his MSc in Aerospace Engineering, designing new multirotor prototypes and a solar-powered fixed-wing. Later, he participated in a PhD program, developing new AI and Computer Vision algorithms for UAS, gathering experience in two main pillars of UAS technology: Aeronautics and Robotics.

In 2010, he joined CATUAV as a UAS engineer. He is part of the founding team of the BCN Drone Center, participating in the design and implementation of the Test Site facilities. He has participated in multiple projects, covering most of the UAS value chain and applications.

As CEO of BCN Drone Center, he focuses on developing testing, evaluation, and certification procedures and services that upcoming advanced UAS applications need to comply with all safety and security requirements. Furthermore, with more than 15 years of experience in the UAS sector, he helps any UAS stakeholder successfully deploy any new application or technology to the market.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Jordi at last year’s Aerial Cities event in Bern, Switzerland. Click here to view the interview! 

Secure your place at Aerial Cities 2024 today! 

Make sure to secure your place in London this November to benefit from networking and user insights, to have the opportunity to listen to industry leaders discuss revenue generation, and to see what lies ahead in the drone industry! Mark your calendars for 13-14 November 2024 and be part of the movement that’s setting the course for the future of our cities.

Do you want to become more visible in the industry and speak at our event? Click the link here to download our brochure!