ABOUT SHEARWATER
The Shearwater Story
Inspired by shearwater birds, which can fly for days or months, the founders envisioned drones that could enhance public safety and disaster response while reducing emissions.
VISION & MISSION
On a Mission to Take Drone Flight to New Heights
We build intelligent systems that unlock new levels of speed, reach, and resilience in uncrewed operations — empowering teams to act faster, fly farther, and stay ahead.
THE TEAM
Founding Team
Shearwater Aerospace was founded to make superior drone flight a reality, taking its name from the shearwater seabird, which migrates 64,000 kilometres a year — the longest animal migration ever recorded.
Chad Armstrong
CEO
Chad Armstrong is a successful entrepreneur with a passion for devising novel solutions to challenging problems. Holding both an engineering degree from McGill University and an MBA from INSEAD, Chad has extensive experience in leadership positions. In 2012, he co-founded Evinance, an industry-leading clinical decision support company focused on improving the quality of care for cancer patients. As the CEO, he designed the strategies and led the development and commercialization of their platform until 2018 when it was acquired by Varian. Following the acquisition, Chad led Varian’s clinical decision support initiatives as Director of Product Management.
Alexandre Borowczyk
CTO
Holding a master's degree in aerospace engineering focused on guidance, navigation and controls systems, Alexandre has a proven track record in developing cutting-edge solutions. He has earned multiple wins at the International Aerial Robotics Challenge as well as a position in the 2016 DJI Developer Challenge finals. He strongly believes in the need and the potential of drones for good and is now committed to create technology that rises up to this challenge
THE TEAM
Founding Team
Shearwater Aerospace was founded to make superior drone flight a reality, taking its name from the shearwater seabird, which migrates 64,000 kilometres a year — the longest animal migration ever recorded.
From public safety to wildfire monitoring, the applications for Shearwater's Smart Flight™ platform are virtually limitless. Our team believes that drones could soon replace traditional aircraft across many applications, substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions and keeping human pilots out of harm's way.
Chad Armstrong
CEO
Alexandre Borowczyk
CTO
Chad Armstrong is a successful entrepreneur with a passion for devising novel solutions to challenging problems. Holding both an engineering degree from McGill University and an MBA from INSEAD, Chad has extensive experience in leadership positions. In 2012, he co-founded Evinance, an industry-leading clinical decision support company focused on improving the quality of care for cancer patients. As the CEO, he designed the strategies and led the development and commercialization of their platform until 2018 when it was acquired by Varian. Following the acquisition, Chad led Varian’s clinical decision support initiatives as Director of Product Management.
Holding a master's degree in aerospace engineering focused on guidance, navigation and controls systems, Alexandre has a proven track record in developing cutting-edge solutions. He has earned multiple wins at the International Aerial Robotics Challenge as well as a position in the 2016 DJI Developer Challenge finals. He strongly believes in the need and the potential of drones for good and is now committed to create technology that rises up to this challenge
Our Advisors
Timothy L. Heely
Rear Admiral U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Tim Heely has over 40 years of experience as a US Naval Aviator and in the private sector. He served as the Program Executive Officer for Naval Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO(U&W)), overseeing the development and support of unmanned air vehicles and strike weapons for the Navy and Marine Corps.
Jack W. Langelaan, PhD
Aerospace Researcher
Jack is a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Penn State University and a leading expert in autonomous soaring. With 93 published papers on topics such as autonomous flight, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and vehicle dynamics and control, his research plays a crucial role in guiding the work of Shearwater Aerospace.
Richard Reiner, PhD
Entrepreneur & Investor
Dr. Richard Reiner is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor focused on cybersecurity, blockchain, AI, and IoT. He is the Founding Partner at CC Stratus Capital and has served as Executive Chair of dfuse and Chair of Cybeats, both of which were acquired by notable companies. Previously, he was CTO of Safe Identity at Intel and VP of Safe Identity at McAfee.
Nicholas Lawrance, PhD
Research Scientist
Nicholas is an accomplished academic with over 30 publications and 17 years of research experience in autonomous soaring, unmanned aerial vehicles, machine learning, and robotics. He completed his PhD in aerospace engineering at the University of Sydney, and later conducted research at Oregon State University for the Office of Naval Research and the Department of Energy.
INDUSTRY
Our Collaborators
