Senior Google and Facebook Executive Richard Wooldridge Joins Airobotics

Airobotics, an Israeli start-up that specialises in fully automated UAVs, has appointed Richard Wooldridge as its new chief operating officer. As the first company to be granted an aviation authority to fly drones without a human pilot, Airobotics welcomes Wooldridge to expand on its years of aerospace design and advanced systems for end users.

Richard Wooldridge has over two decades of managerial experience in the tech industry, leading teams at corporate companies to drive business and enhance product operations and innovation, from the start-up stage to commercialisation. He served as the COO/GTM Lead at Facebook’s Building 8 and Google’s Advanced Technology and Products Group (ATAP). Both are highly prestigious consumer hardware teams responsible for innovative consumer electronics. Airobotics states Wooldridge’s extensive corporate expertise in hardware manufacturing and supply chain management will contribute to the company’s expansion and scale.

Wooldridge previously served as Motorola’s vice president of Global Supply Chain for over five years, and has generated billions in product sales. During his term at Google/Motorola, He worked closely on developing modular smartphones and smartphone platforms. Prior to joining Motorola as part of the Google acquisition, Wooldridge held several executive positions, including at Barnes and Noble as the vice president of Operations and Logistics, at Flex as the senior vice president of Global Operations and Consumer Electronics Division, and at Nokia as senior vice president Supply Chain, working in multiple geographies.

Various industrial fields

Ran Krauss, CEO and co-founder of Airobotics, commented his team is very happy to have Wooldridge on board during this exciting time of growth in the company. After securing US$42.5 million in the company’s latest funding round, they have begun to expand to new countries around the world and are continually working with new companies in various industrial fields. Krauss believes Wooldridge is one of the world’s experts in scaling-up global business and thinks his expertise will be vital as the company enters the next phase of expansion.

Richard Wooldridge said he is excited to join the Airobotics team and to dive into the world of automated drones that is projected to have significant growth in the upcoming years. After personally investing in the company for many years and serving on Airobotics’ board of directors, he has witnessed first-hand how Airobotics has distinguished itself as the leader in automated drone solutions.