Drone Startup Airobotics Nabs Ex-Google and Facebook Exec Richard Wooldridge

Autonomous drone startup Airobotics has added a top name executive to their office, in a move that will see an unmitigated expansion of its unique fully automated UAV systems following wildly successful rounds of funding.

The company, which has headquarters in both Israel and Australia, has welcomed Richard Wooldridge, formerly of Google and Facebook, as their new Chief Operating Officer this week.

With over 20 years of leadership experience in high level technology companies, Wooldridge brings with him decades of know-how in driving and enhancing innovation in tech from start-up to commercialization.

Airobotics were the first company to be granted permission to fly drones with out a human pilot by the Israeli civil aviation authority, and were earlier this year claimed a spot as one of only 7 UAV-related names in the top 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2018 list by business site Fast Company.

Wooldridge previously held the highly regarded position of COO/GTM in both Google’s Advanced Technology and Products Group (ATAP) and Facebook’s Building 8. These top-of-the-line consumer hardware development teams put Wooldridge on the forefront of consumer electronics innovation, a skillset that will surely benefit Airobotics.

His professional pedigree also includes a role as Vice President for Motorola’s Global Supply Chain, which brought the company billions in profits, the company said in a press release. Prior to that he worked in several leading roles, including VP of Operations and Logistics at Barnes and Noble, at Flex as the SVP of Global Operations and Consumer Electronics Division, and as SVP of Supply Chain at Nokia.

Ran Kraus, CEO and Co-Founder of Airobotics says the company is thrilled to have Wooldridge on board.

“After securing $42.5 million in our latest funding round, we’ve begun to expand to new countries around the world and we’re continually working with new companies in various industrial fields. Richard is one of the world’s experts in scaling-up global business and his expertise will be vital as we enter our next phase of expansion,” he said.

As for Wooldridge, the opportunity will see him dive headfirst into a sector that he can see has great potential.

“I’m excited to join the Airobotics team and dive into the world of automated drones, that’s projected to have significant growth in the upcoming years,” said Richard Wooldridge. “After personally investing in the company for many years and serving on Airobotics’ board of directors, I’ve witnessed firsthand how Airobotics has distinguished itself as the leader in automated drone solutions. I’m looking forward to helping navigate this startup’s future innovation.”

By joining Airobotics, Wooldridge follows in the footsteps of several other big name execs to flock to the UAV sector in recent times. Crypto drone transportation network DAV Foundation a few weeks ago announced the addition to their board of leading names from NASA, General Motors and Ethereum, while imminent auto designer Frank Stephenson only this week joined VTOL startup Lilium.