Schiebel Group announces expansion of its US subsidiary, Schiebel Aircraft, Inc., with the appointment of Gretchen West as President and CEO to facilitate the growth of its unrivaled CAMCOPTER^® S-100 UAS in the United States with a focus on the tremendous opportunities in the US defense, civil and commercial markets.

"Gretchen has been at the forefront of the US unmanned systems industry for 15 years and has advocated on behalf of the global community to reduce barriers to enable operations and general use," stated Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group. "With experience across multiple industries – defense, civil, and commercial – Gretchen brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to SAI. We are thrilled to welcome Gretchen to our global team and to serve these new markets under her leadership."

Most recently, Gretchen served as a senior director in the Global Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) practice group at leading law firm Hogan Lovells focusing on drone policy initiatives and strategies for commercial drone market expansion. She also serves as Co-Executive Director of the Commercial Drone Alliance, an independent non-profit, where she advocates on behalf of the commercial drone industry for a stronger and expanded policy and regulatory environment for UAS integration. Prior to those roles, Gretchen served as Executive Vice President at AUVSI where she oversaw the association's advocacy, business development, and strategy efforts.

Widely recognized as a pioneer in the commercial drone market and other emerging technologies, Gretchen has been widely featured in print and TV media outlets and has educated various industries at over hundred conferences and events on the benefits of commercial drone technologies. She has also represented the unmanned systems industry in front of Congress and other Federal Agencies, providing testimony, briefings, and educational presentations.

"Having known the proven technology that the Schiebel Group brings with the CAMCOPTER^® S-100 UAS over the course of my career in the unmanned systems industry, I am thrilled with the opportunity to lead Schiebel Aircraft here in America," stated Gretchen West. "I look forward to working with the Federal Government to integrate our system, to demonstrate our capabilities to customers across all domains - defense, civil, and commercial - and to develop a robust market for our unique and unparalleled UAS. The opportunities in the US are great, and I'm excited to build out this company and team."