Flytrex, a leader in on-demand drone delivery for food and retail, announced the appointment of Ben Thein as Chief Operating Officer (COO). An accomplished executive with over fifteen years of managerial, operational and technical experience, Thein will lead global operations for the company with a special focus on building US-based partnerships in order to expand drone delivery in the e-commerce and food sectors.
Thein joins Flytrex after serving four years as VP of Operations at Mindspace, where he was responsible for P&L and led the company’s international expansion. Prior to Mindspace, Thein worked at SodaStream as head of global business development, creating partnerships with prominent brands such as PepsiCo, Samsung and KitchenAid. Thein’s extensive experience and targeted expertise will help grow Flytrex’s business and partnerships across the US and advance the company’s overall operational strategies.
“The past year has demonstrated what a crucial role drone delivery will play in last-mile fulfillment worldwide, and now is the time to dedicate resources to launching our services on a global scale,” said Yariv Bash, Co-Founder and CEO of Flytrex. “Following our partnerships with global brands in 2020 and as we gear up for even more growth in 2021, Ben’s unique experience and expertise will be a key factor in expanding our effort to foster the widespread adoption of drone delivery in the US and around the world.”
The appointment comes on the heels of several significant milestones for the drone company. In September 2020, Flytrex announced a benchmark partnership with Walmart to bring backyard drone delivery to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Earlier in the year, Flytrex partnered with EASE Drones in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver necessities to residents in Grand Forks, North Dakota, helping address the growing health crisis by keeping citizens in the safety of their own homes and reducing crowding and unnecessary contact at local stores. Flytrex has also been a participant in the Federal Aviation Authority’s (FAA) UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) since 2018 and was most recently selected for the FAA’s subsequent initiative, BEYOND to work with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) as well as the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) to help tackle the remaining challenges of UAS integration.
“I am thrilled to be joining the dynamic, groundbreaking team at Flytrex, especially at a time when on-demand delivery solutions have never been more pertinent,” said Thein, incoming COO at Flytrex. “It is thrilling to witness the market’s rapid growth and to see so many companies adopt drone delivery, a swifter, more affordable, more sustainable solution on its way to becoming an industry standard. Building on Flytrex’s momentum in North Carolina and North Dakota, I’m looking forward to delivering immediate value and expanding our footprint across the US.”
Flytrex is leading the effort to make autonomous drone delivery a reality, disrupting areas from eCommerce to Mobility to Smart Cities and beyond. Flytrex is spearheading the public acceptance of drone delivery as well as its stringent safety standards in conjunction with key regulatory bodies like the FAA. Flytrex’s initiatives are helping shape the future of on-demand direct-to-consumer aerial delivery.
