Dean Donovan joins Elroy Air Board of Directors
SAN FRANCISCO - Elroy Air, the market leader in middle-mile autonomous aerial logistics, today announced Dean Donovan has joined the Board of Directors. Donovan co-founded Mexico's largest airline, Volaris, and is currently Managing Director of DiamondStream Partners where he invests in next generation aviation and aerospace businesses.
"We're honored to have Dean on our Board of Directors," said Elroy Air CEO Andrew Clare. "His extraordinary experience in aerospace and aviation, and his track record of shaping what's next in the industry, will be a powerful force in advancing our mission."
Donovan, who was an early investor of Elroy Air, also sits on the boards of Volaris, JetZero, Wingtra, and Volantio.
"I'm thrilled to join Elroy Air's Board of Directors," said Donovan. "When you think about traditional freight, moving goods from distribution center to distribution center, it's often slow, inefficient, and involves a lot of handling, with aircraft flying at less than full capacity. Elroy Air's approach is completely different. Their autonomous aircraft can do point-to-point movement of goods with fewer hand-offs, at lower cost, higher aircraft utilization, and higher speed. It's a revolutionary model for logistics that has commanded a significant aircraft demand backlog from marquee partners including Bristow, LCI and FedEx. I'm excited to support the team in scaling this solution and accelerating strategic commercial partnerships."
Elroy Air is redefining autonomous cargo transport with the Chaparral - an advanced vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft built to carry up to 300 pounds of cargo across 300 miles without a crew onboard. Chaparral was built with a hybrid-electric powertrain to meet the needs of our commercial and defense customers, with high uptime, no charging infrastructure required, and increased range.
Designed with speed, safety, and operational efficiency in mind, the Chaparral delivers next-generation logistics at a fraction of the capital and operational costs of traditional piloted helicopters. From tactical resupply to humanitarian aid, Chaparral enables rapid cargo delivery while keeping personnel out of harm's way. Its autonomous system enhances mission resilience by ensuring critical cargo reaches the point of need safely, securely and reliably.
About Elroy Air
Elroy Air is developing industry-first autonomous aircraft systems and cutting-edge software, revolutionizing the world of express shipping. Leveraging hybrid-electric and autonomous vehicle technologies, their vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft transcend traditional airport limitations, unlocking new frontiers in commercial air shipping, humanitarian aid, and military logistics. From agile, low-risk resupply for troops, to dynamic disaster response and firefighting support, to warehouse-to-warehouse express parcel transport, their technology reshapes logistics possibilities. With headquarters in South San Francisco and flight test operations in Byron California, Elroy Air is backed by premier venture capital firms including Catapult Ventures, Marlinspike Partners, Snowpoint Ventures, and Shield Capital. Strategic investment from industry giants like Lockheed Martin Ventures and support from visionary angel investors including early Uber executives drive the company's mission to provide same-day shipping to every person on the planet.
For more information, visit https://elroyair.com.