The Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA), an independent 501c6 non-profit organization led by key members of the commercial drone industry, has announced that Matt Beckwith, VP of Business Development and Regulatory Affairs at Guardian Agriculture, has joined its Board of Directors. Guardian Agriculture develops electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) systems for commercial-scale sustainable farming.
“Our Board of Directors represents the entire CDA membership and champions policies which foster the safe and secure scaling of drone operations across the United States,” said Lisa Ellman, Executive Director of the Commercial Drone Alliance. “We welcome Matt Beckwith as our newest board member and look forward to benefiting from Guardian’s deep experience in agriculture and aerial application.”
Matt brings expertise from more than 20 years in agriculture. Before joining Guardian Agriculture, he founded an early-stage drone spraying company, Rantizo. He has also lived and worked in Asia for over a decade, where he established a seed company selling hybrid rice to Vietnamese farmers and was a strategy consultant for McKinsey. He is a former Fulbright Scholar, holds a B.A. from American University, a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and an MBA from INSEAD.
“The Commercial Drone Alliance plays an essential role in advocating for a regulatory landscape that enables U.S. businesses – especially farmers – to realize the full potential of commercial drones,” shared Matt Beckwith, VP of Business Development and Regulatory Affairs at Guardian Agriculture. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve on the CDA’s Board of Directors to help achieve American leadership in the commercial application of drones.”
Matt Beckwith is joining other CDA’s other Directors: Margaret Nagle (Wing), Brendan Groves (Skydio), Okeoma Moronu, (Zipline International, Inc.), Ken Stewart (NUAIR), Neta Gliksman (Percepto Robotics), James Grimsley (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Dean Allen Barefield (Southern Company), Jeff Cole (Hidden Level), Aaditya Devarakonda (Dedrone), Grant Jordan (SkySafe), Matt McCardle (Amazon Prime Air), Eric Schwartz (Florida Power & Light), David Shilliday (Honeywell), and Eric Brock (Ondas).
