Altitude Angel appoints senior aviation and regulation experts

Mike Gadd joins as Head of International Regulatory Affairs from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, where he was Policy Lead for UAS. Phil Binks, formerly employed at NATS as a Domain Expert in Drones, has been appointed as Head of ATM. Together, they will lead Altitude Angel’s rapidly expanding team of engineering and aviation professionals.

The senior appointments follow Altitude Angel securing a $4.5m Series A funding round, led by the Seraphim Space Fund, with participation from ADV and Frequentis AG, in January this year.

Boosting aviation expertise

Both Mike and Phil are set to boost the team’s aviation expertise as it delivers on its recent successes as the first UTM company to demonstrate real-time integration between UTM and ATM systems with its partner, Frequentis. Their extensive industry and regulatory experience will also boost Altitude Angel’s ability to ensure its platforms continue to drive change in the sector through its cohesive solutions to bring ATM and UTM together and open up the skies to more automated use on the global stage.

Strategic international expansion

Altitude Angel will expand its footprint in both Europe and the US later this year as it scales.  The start-up is investing heavily in growing its team, recruiting 20 new team members in software engineering alone by the end of summer.

Richard Parker, founder and CEO of Altitude Angel comments, “We’re delighted to welcome Mike and Phil to our rapidly growing team. Their extensive industry expertise will really help us to deliver on our mission, helping airspace managers to safely integrate drone flights into their normal operations using familiar, tried-and-test robust aviation equipment; a crucial step towards enabling routine BVLOS operations. Working with our product teams, Mike and Phil will head up a team of aviation industry experts to design UTM solutions that meet real-world requirements.

On a mission to open up the skies

Altitude Angel has long been a trusted advisor to regulatory groups and national aviation authorities, working in partnership with key stakeholders to manage new legislative and regulatory issues.

Mike Gadd, Head of International Regulatory Affairs, comments, “This next step is about using my experience to support the growth in safe drone use through integration with all other airspace users. Altitude Angel is uniquely placed to bring together the needs of the key aviation stakeholders and the wider technical service providers. It’s a privilege to be part of the team accelerating drone opportunities and services in a safe way almost anywhere around the world.”

Phil Binks, Head of ATM, adds “Altitude Angel is a class-leading company, working at the cutting edge of technology, developing safe, effective UTM solutions.  It was an opportunity too good to miss! It’s a very exciting time for this industry which is set for rapid, exponential growth as drones will soon play a part in everyone’s daily life, and I’m looking forward to using my expertise in this domain to help bring UTM to fruition.”