Industry Leaders Bring Over 40 Years Combined Experience to Wisk
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. – Wisk Aero, a leading Urban Air Mobility (UAM) company and developer of the first all-electric, self-flying air taxi in the U.S., has expanded its technical expertise with the addition of two new industry leaders: Jonathan Lovegren as Head of Autonomy and Sumita Tandon as Head of Software.
“Creating an entirely new type of aircraft that has the potential to transform the way we move in our day-to-day lives is not an easy task. It requires not only years of research, design, and testing, but also a talented team,” said Gary Gysin, CEO of Wisk. “Jon and Sumita bring more than 40 years of combined experience to our team and exemplify the excellence needed to make UAM a reality. We are excited to welcome them to the team.”
In his new role as Head of Autonomy, Lovegren will oversee Wisk’s autonomy program, including engineering and certification strategy for autonomy. Previously, he served as Flight Software and Simulation Lead at A3 by Airbus, where he was responsible for overseeing critical flight control software and simulations for Vahana, Airbus’s autonomous, full-scale eVTOL demonstrator. Lovegren has also held key leadership and technical roles at Airware, the enterprise unmanned aerial vehicle company specializing in aerial surveys and inspections, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin.
“I truly believe that advances in autonomous technologies will make aviation safer and more efficient but it has to be done right,” said Lovegren. “Wisk is one of the only UAM companies with a self-flying first approach and has been leading the industry in autonomy since 2010. I’m excited to be joining a company moving autonomy beyond its limited use cases in aviation today, and to lead Wisk’s effort to certify a system smart and safe enough to fly passengers in our airspace system.”
As Head of Software, Tandon will be responsible for leading all aspects of Wisk’s Software and Automation Group through the certification process, from aircraft to ground control software. Prior to joining Wisk, she was Director of the Chief Engineering Office at L3Harris for its commercial avionics division, driving robust designs for surveillance products and striving for engineering excellence across the organization. She brings more than 25 years of experience, with a significant part in the aerospace industry at aviation companies including United Technologies and Hamilton Sundstrand. She has helped certify many safety-critical products on major platforms (like Bombardier CSeries, Embraer KC-390, and others), meeting DO-178 guidelines. Prior to joining the aerospace industry, she held multiple embedded software roles in the transportation and telecom sectors.
“I am very excited to join Wisk and their amazing team of engineers, as we embark on a journey to make Urban Air Mobility accessible to everyone! All-electric, self-flying aircraft are the future,” said Tandon. “Throughout its decade-long history, Wisk has demonstrated the innovation and creativity required for success in this industry and I look forward to being part of this epic journey.”
Since 2010, Wisk has been focused on delivering safe, everyday flight for everyone. After successfully designing, developing, testing five generations of eVTOL aircraft, Wisk is now designing its sixth generation aircraft.
ABOUT WISK
Wisk is an urban air mobility company dedicated to delivering safe, everyday flight for everyone. Wisk’s self-flying, eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) air taxi, will make it possible for passengers to skip the traffic and get to their destination faster. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and New Zealand, Wisk is an independent company backed by The Boeing Company and Kitty Hawk Corporation. With over a decade of experience and over 1500 test flights, Wisk is shaping the future of daily commutes and urban travel, safely and sustainably.
Wisk is on a journey to deliver safe, autonomous, all-electric, everyday flight, join us and learn more here.
