San Francisco, California, October 21, 2021 — Elroy Air, the Aerospace and Logistics company developing the world’s first end-to-end autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial cargo system, today announced that Grant Newman has been appointed to the position of Chief Financial Officer, effective September 28, 2021.
Mr. Newman has an extensive background in finance and aviation. He recently served as SVP, Strategy & Corporate Development at Era Group, Inc., where he led the acquisition of Bristow Group, Inc. The combination formed one of the largest helicopter operators in the world, providing aviation services to offshore energy companies globally as well as commercial and public sector search and rescue services, including for the U.K. Maritime & Coastguard Agency. Following the merger, he served as Treasurer and Head of Investor Relations for the combined company and led the issuance of $400 million in senior secured notes and an $80 million ABL facility. Prior to his executive roles in the helicopter industry, Mr. Newman was a Director in the Industrials investment banking group at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. At Deutsche Bank, Mr. Newman led Americas Commercial Aerospace and Global Helicopter Coverage, with responsibilities for business origination and deal execution for a full range of strategic advisory and capital markets assignments including corporate mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, initial public offerings, leveraged buy-outs, high yield bonds and other investment banking offerings. He has been involved in many of the most significant transactions in the commercial aerospace industry over the last decade.
Mr. Newman began his professional career at General Electric Company (GE) from 2001 to 2006, where he had responsibilities for financial planning and analysis related to various GE business lines. During his tenure, Mr. Newman completed GE’s rigorous Financial Management Program and was certified as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Mr. Newman holds a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Economics and Government & Politics from the University of Maryland, a Master of Science degree in Finance from The Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
David Merrill, CEO of Elroy Air said: “We are excited to welcome Grant to the senior leadership team at Elroy Air as we make significant progress in our aircraft development and deployment capability. The convergence of our technology maturation and our leadership position in VTOL aerial logistics along with the capital markets’ embrace of advanced air mobility presents an opportune time for Grant to join the Elroy Air team. His experience and sophistication in strategic finance will be a competitive advantage for Elroy Air as we move into the market.”
About Elroy Air
Elroy Air is an aerospace and logistics company developing industry-first autonomous aircraft systems and software to expand the reach of express shipping to 1Bn people worldwide. Building on the powertrain, sensing and compute currently enabling the hybrid-electric/autonomous vehicle revolution, Elroy Air’s vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aerial logistics systems can operate outside of airport infrastructure and carry 300+ pounds of cargo over 300 miles. These systems evolve the realm of the possible in commercial air cargo, to expand delivery locations and reduce timeframes, provide immediate aid in disaster and fire-fighting situations, and rapid autonomous resupply for troops in the field.
Elroy Air was founded in 2016 by leaders in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), product development and software. The company is financed by top venture capital firms and strategic investors including Catapult Ventures, Levitate Capital, Lemnos, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Marlinspike Capital, Prosperity7 Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Haystack, Shasta Ventures, TenOneTen, VIENTO.ventures, Amplify Partners, Homebrew, Hemisphere Ventures, DiamondStream Partners, E14 Fund, City Light, Side X Side Management, Venture Investment Associates, early Uber employees and pioneering angel investors.
The company has attracted a diverse and talented team with industry experience hailing from Uber, Northrop Grumman, Scaled Composites, General Atomics, Skyryse, Honeywell, General Electric, Deutsche Bank, Bristow Group and Airbus as well as academic backgrounds from Embry-Riddle, MIT, Tufts, Georgia Tech, Duke and Stanford.
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