WHAT WE DO
Near Earth’s technology allows aircraft to autonomously take off, fly, and land safely, with or without GPS. Its solutions enable aerial mobility applications for partners in the commercial and defense sectors. Near Earth bridges the gap between aerospace and robotics with complete systems that improve efficiency, performance, and safety for aircraft ranging from small drones to large helicopters.
LEADERSHIP
Sanjiv Singh
CEO & Co-Founder
Sanjiv leads the technical and business strategy for the company. He brings 25 years of experience in autonomous ground and air vehicles operating in extreme environments. Key area of his expertise are in perception and planning for air and ground vehicles. In addition, he specializes in the coordination of teams of (human and robotic) agents performing complex tasks. Sanjiv obtained his PhD in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University in 1995. Near Earth is his third commercial venture.
Marcel Bergerman
COO & Co-Founder
Marcel oversees the company’s technical operations, including project and product management and flight operations; and its administrative operations, including finance, people, legal, and IT. Marcel has a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to joining Near Earth Autonomy, he was a faculty at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute for 6 years. Marcel is also a co-founder of MySTEM Academy, a technology education venture that teaches programming and robotics to elementary and middle school children.
Samuel Dinnar
CSO
As Chief Strategy Officer, Samuel manages Near Earth’s corporate strategy and strategic initiatives. Dinnar is an FAA-certified flight instructor and jet pilot, who gained experience in the pioneering years of uncrewed aerial systems three decades ago, when he led major UAV programs from prototypes to operational production. He later helped revolutionize the certified commercial avionics market by introducing integrated flight decks to general aviation, in his roles directing product engineering and corporate development. Dinnar holds degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science, and a PMD from the Harvard Business School. He is based in Boston, where he is a published author and continues to teach at Harvard‘s PON and at MIT’s Graduate Program for Engineering Leadership.
Lyle Chamberlain
Co-Founder & Member of Board of Directors
Lyle has over two decades of experience in field robotics implementation and testing, with the majority of his work involving aircraft. He has led technical development and deployment of autonomous aircraft ranging in size from helicopters that carry 5,000 pounds, down to vehicles with a payload of 5 pounds. He is now focusing on safety assurance for autonomous aircraft to allow widespread adoption of flying delivery and passenger vehicles. Lyle graduated from Caltech in 2005 with a BS in Engineering and Applied Science and worked for 8 years as an engineering staff at the Carnegie Mellon Field Robotics Center before starting Near Earth Autonomy with three other members.
Sebastian Scherer
Co-Founder
Sebastian brings key technical expertise in perception and motion planning to the company. Sebastian has pushed the state of the art in intelligence for autonomous aerial vehicles for over 10 years and has developed perception and motion planning algorithms that enable flight in unstructured and unknown environments. Currently, he leads projects in perception and planning for autonomous aircraft. Sebastian obtained his PhD in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University in 2010. He has been on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon since 2012.
Gur Kimchi
Member of Board of Directors
Gur is a member of the board of directors of Near Earth Autonomy. He currently sits on the board of directors for several companies, including Ascent Aerosystems, Vertical Aerospace, and Aerolane. Gur served as Vice President at Amazon.com, Inc. from 2012 to 2020, where he co-founded the Amazon Prime Air delivery-by-drone project and led the organization to its FAA certification as a Part 135 commercial airline. Prior to Amazon, Gur served in a number of different roles at Microsoft where he was integral in the development of key technologies including Virtual Earth & Bing Maps, Contextual & Geosocial search, Cloud Infrastructure, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Enterprise Communications. Gur is a founding member of the Federal Aviation Administration Drone Advisory Committee and worked in collaboration with the FAA, SESAR, NASA, and ICAO on the development of the Federated Airspace Management Architecture, enabling the safe integration of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems and Urban Air Mobility into the airspace around the world.
John W. Piasecki
Member of Board of Directors
​John W. Piasecki is President & CEO of Piasecki Aircraft Corp., a pioneering flight research company focused on development and demonstration of advanced rotorcraft and unmanned aerial vehicle platforms and technologies for military and commercial applications. The company is a world leader in vertical lift innovation and received the US Presidential National Medal of Technology, Smithsonian Air & Space Achievement Award, and DoD’s Tibbitts Award for Small Business innovation. Over his 36 year career in the rotorcraft industry, John has focused on corporate strategy, requirements and program development and management oversight of the company’s programs, including high speed compound helicopters, air-launched UAS, World’s first autonomous autogyro, and World’s first fully autonomous man-rated helicopter in collaboration with the founding team of Near Earth. John received the 2021 Vertical Flight Society’s Haueter Award for outstanding contributions to the field of VTOL aircraft development, serves as the Vice Chairman of the Vertical Lift Consortium, DoD’s primary industry interface for the advancement of vertical lift technologies, and as a Trustee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. John graduated in 1989 from Yale University with a B.A. degree in Political Science (with Distinction) and is an FAA licensed pilot.
Laurence Vigeant-Langlois
Member of Board of Directors
Laurence is Managing Director at AE Industrial Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm with over $5 billion of assets under management. Her primary focus is on business development and portfolio management across AE Industrial’s funds and sectors, with several board roles including with Columbia Helicopters and Edge Autonomy. She previously worked in commercial, technical and operational roles across the aerospace industry, including as Chief Executive Officer of the GE Passport JV engine program of GE Aerospace with IHI and Safran, and at Sikorsky Aircraft, CIT Aerospace and The Weather Company. She flew Learjets commercially, earned SM and PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics (Engineering) at MIT and is a member of the Wings Club Foundation.
Bill Lewis
Member of Board of Advisors
Dr. Bill Lewis is a nationally recognized leader in military aviation, rotorcraft research, and aerospace technology development with more than four decades of experience spanning government, academia, and industry. During a distinguished 22-year U.S. Army career, he served as an instructor pilot, experimental test pilot, acquisition leader, and product manager before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He later held senior leadership positions including Chief Engineer of the RAH-66 Comanche program, Director of the U.S. Army Aviation Engineering Directorate, and Director of the U.S. Army Aviation Development Directorate, where he launched transformational initiatives such as the Joint Multi-Role rotorcraft program, Degraded Visual Environment technologies, and Aerial Launched Effects. Dr. Lewis holds a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, master's degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and a Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for advancing the safety, airworthiness, and operational capabilities of next-generation vertical lift aircraft, helping shape many of the technologies that continue to influence military and commercial aviation today.
Dawn Rucker
Member of Board of Advisors
Dawn Rucker is a seasoned business executive, entrepreneur, and strategic advisor with more than three decades of leadership experience in the aerospace, defense, and technology sectors. She is the founder and principal of The Rucker Group, where she advises high-growth companies on strategy, commercialization, fundraising, and executive leadership. Her career includes executive leadership at L-3 Communications Brashear, as well as advisory and mentoring roles with organizations including Carnegie Mellon University, the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, and TiE Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Ian Walsh
Member of Board of Advisors
Ian Walsh is a senior aerospace and defense executive with more than 35 years of leadership experience spanning military service, commercial aviation, and advanced aerospace manufacturing. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of FDH Aero. Previously, he was Chairman, President, and CEO of Kaman Corporation, Chief Operating Officer of REV Group, and held numerous executive leadership positions during a 20-year career at Textron, including President and CEO of TRU Simulation + Training. Prior to his business career, Ian served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer and naval aviator, flying AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters in combat deployments to Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia. He holds a bachelor's degree from Hamilton College, a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Helios Technologies and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.
Tom Conant
Member of Board of Advisors
Lieutenant General Tom Conant, USMC, Ret. is a senior Marine Corps aviation and defense industry leader with more than four decades of experience spanning military command, attack aviation, government affairs, and strategic advisory roles. He retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2014 after 43 years of service, culminating as Deputy Commander of United States Pacific Command. A career naval aviator, Tom flew AH-1J/T/W/Z attack helicopters and commanded Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167, Marine Aircraft Group 36, Marine Corps Training Command, and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Following his military career, he served as Vice President, Marine Corps Programs, Government Affairs at Lockheed Martin, where he led focused engagement and coordination with senior Marine Corps leadership. Tom holds a bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University and a master's degree from the American Military University. Tom has served on senior advisory boards for General Atomics, Elbit Systems America, Capewell Aerial Delivery Systems, Kaman Corporation, and currently serves as National Commander of the Marine Corps Aviation Association.