From scientist to entrepreneur

I started as an atmospheric scientist, studying volcanic ash, ice clouds and how they affect aircraft. That work took me from Michigan Tech to the University of Bristol, the University of Cambridge and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, where I led technical pre-sales with an Airbus–easyJet consortium demonstrating a volcanic-ash detector.

I founded SATAVIA in 2013 and began active operations in 2015. As a solo founder I bootstrapped the company, raised investment and grew it to nearly 30 people. Our first product, DECISIONX, was AI software combining aircraft-engine data with the environmental conditions aircraft fly through to predict component degradation, helping OEMs reduce maintenance costs under power-by-the-hour service contracts. When COVID took our pipeline to zero, I pivoted to contrail avoidance and flight-planning optimisation, combining weather forecasts with flight data, and built a market before regulation required it. I led customer acquisition throughout and grew a sales team selling to CEOs, CFOs and COOs, doing business in 14 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. In 2024 GE Aerospace acquired the company, and I ran the product line there as General Manager.