News Brief: Aerospace Veteran Ali Dian Joins Aerovel as Interim CEO

Aerovel recently hired aerospace veteran Ali Dian as interim CEO to manage day-to-day operations and to interface with civil and military customers in the US and abroad.  Aerovel founding president Dr. Tad McGeer will continue as the company’s Chief Technology Officer focusing on the continued technical excellence of Aerovel Flexrotor as well as any future derivatives. Flexrotor is the most advanced Group 2 unmanned aerial system (UAS) and offers an unprecedented combination of small footprint, large payload/range, vertical takeoff and landing, and economy.

Ali Dian has more than 30 years of leadership experience in engineering design and development, manufacturing, program management, sales and marketing for both the DOD and commercial industries. After earning a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University and a M.S. from Penn State University, he went on to hold executive roles in several companies in the aerospace and UAS industry. He has been vice president of business development at Sierra Nevada Corporation, senior director of development, marketing and sales at Collins Aerospace and vice president of product and business development at Athena Technologies, among many other roles.

Dr. Tad McGeer, who founded and led both Aerovel and Insitu, is renowned in the UAS industry. He is an aeronautical veteran who invented and developed the Group 2 UAS, a backbone of US military and allied intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions worldwide. The class-II UAS systems have contributed significantly to the effectiveness of US and allied troops as well as their safety and security.