DroneShield has appointed Michael Powell as Chief Operating Officer.
“Michael is a proven operator with deep experience delivering complex programs at global scale,” Chief Executive of DroneShield, Oleg Vornik, said.
"As demand for counter-UAS capability continues to accelerate, his leadership will be instrumental in ensuring DroneShield scales with discipline, resilience, and a relentless focus on customer outcomes.”
The appointment has followed a period of accelerated expansion for DroneShield, including increased activity across Europe and the United States, rising demand from defence, government, and critical infrastructure customers, and a major expansion of manufacturing capacity at the company’s Alexandria, New South Wales facility.
Michael will bring a little more than 25 years of senior executive and operational leadership experience across defence, aerospace, secure communications, simulation, railway, and critical infrastructure markets.
His career has included senior roles such as Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director, and Operations Director at international organisations such as Thales Australia and Knorr-Bremse, where he led large, multinational teams and managed complex, multi-hundred-million-dollar operational portfolios.
Across these roles, Michael has built and scaled global manufacturing and supply chain operations, led international business turnarounds, and delivered large-scale operational transformation programs.
As Chief Operating Officer, Michael will be responsible for scaling DroneShield’s global operations, strengthening delivery and sustainment capability, and aligning engineering, manufacturing, and supply-chain functions to support the company’s expanding product portfolio and growing international customer base.
Michael has lived and worked across Australia, Asia-Pacific, United States, Europe, and the Middle East. He has a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Engineering and is a Chartered Professional Engineer, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers.