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Pierce Aerospace Introduces New Board of Advisors

Indianapolis, Indiana-based Pierce Aerospace unveiled its inaugural Board of Advisors. The step represents a milestone in the company’s development, as if further grows as a provider of remote identification technologies in the burgeoning autonomous aircraft sector, the company’s CEO Aaron Pierce reported on February 10.

“We are very honored to announce the formation of our formal advisory board and the depth of talent and experiences that they bring to Pierce Aerospace,” said Pierce. “The board brings fresh perspectives to the company from a variety of diverse backgrounds and decades of experience covering the finance, legal, commercial, government, and defense sectors.”

The new board members include:

Rebecca Decker, business and defense board advisor. Decker is the chief operating officer of Bluestaq, an enterprise software company that specializes in secure data management platforms for the Defense Department and the Intelligence Community with contracts in excess of $300 million. Previously, she launched the first tech accelerator in southern Colorado concentrated on space technology with the U.S. Air Force. Decker also was an executive director of the Catalyst Campus and previously served in program management, engineering and business development roles with Boeing, BAE and General Atomics.

Jerome Ferguson, business and technology board advisor. A recent retiree from United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) as the director of Advanced Technologies, Ferguson also is the founder of UPS’ Flight Forward Unmanned Aerial Vehicle subsidiary. UPS Flight Forward, which is specializing in drone delivery, was created in July 2019 and was the first company to receive Federal Aviation Administration certification allowing operation of an unlimited remote-controlled drone delivery network in the United States.

David Kervin, business, capital and defense board advisor. Kervin is a technology executive specializing in buying and selling activities of private equity investments and venture capital. He led the public sector group at Kymeta, the flat-panel satellite antenna manufacturer, and at SRI International, Kervin oversaw $350 million in advanced technology solutions for homeland security and defense mission-focused customers. He also holds executive and board of directors positions at Proteus Space and Torch.AI. A retired Marine, Kervin served in the U.S. Marine Corps infantry, special forces, intelligence and joint force duty roles.

John Pistole, U.S. government and law enforcement board advisor. Pistole oversaw the FBI’s counter terrorism program following the 9/11 attacks and later served as the Bureau’s deputy director for nearly six years under former Director Robert Mueller. In 2010 President Obama nominated Pistole as the Administrator for the Transportation Security Administration where he led the agency and helped transform it into a risk-based and intelligence-driven agency. He holds a juris doctor degree in law from the Robert H. McKinney School of Law at Indiana University and currently serves as President of Anderson University in Indiana.

Charles Stotler, global policy and law advisor. Stotler is co-director of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law. He teaches courses on international space law, cybersecurity law and U.S. national aviation law and his research focuses on the effects of the fragmentation of international law on aerospace governance and on rule law for outer space activities. He also advises on law, policy and regulatory issues.

Starnes Walker, science, cyber and U.S. government advisor. Walker was the founding director of the University of Delaware Cyber Security Initiative, as well as former chief technology officer and technical director for cyber for the U.S. Navy. He served in the senior executive service, standing up the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and the 10th Fleet. He previously served as the Department of Homeland Security director of research with responsibility for the Office of National Laboratories, Office of University Programs, and DHS Centers of Excellence. Walker also served as the Office of Naval Research’s executive director and Argonne National Laboratory’s associate director for national security.