Ashley Bryant
Managing Director, VTOL Technologies Ltd
SL6 0DAMaidenheadBerkshire - United Kingdom
Ashley is an articulate and highly motivated Managing Director of a high-technology start-up company with particular strengths in engineering innovation and people management. A creative and analytical thinker who manages diverse tasks in parallel, bringing them to successful completion and pushing through change using tact and sensitivity. Highly experienced with a rare broad base of skills and ability that would be a distinct advantage to any organisation looking to develop and bring innovative new products to market and implement change.
Ashley has spent the past 6 years setting up, growing and handing over the development of an innovative vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle technology to a leading European aerospace & defence manufacturer.
He speaks both French & German, having spent 4 1/2 years working for Renault in Paris and 8 1/2 years working for Hewlett Packard in Stuttgart. He has also worked for ICL, Computervision, SDRC as well as working on major commercial aerospace projects with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, IBM and CAP Gemini Earnst & Young.
5 contactsSince 2002
VTOL Technologies Ltd was founded in 2002 by MD Ashley Bryant as a high-technology research & development company, with as initial goal the development of a low-cost, flexible search and surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for military, homeland security, policing and environmental monitoring, from IP created and patented by Ashley Bryant. The UAV would be rugged, immediately deployable and could be launched from the ground, ship or even moving vehicles. The vectored-thrust UAV platform is suitable for any situation requiring safe aerial viewing or sensor measurement.
In the first years of operation, the company secured two Dti SMART award R&D grants, a SFLGS loan as well as an LDA-funded Jumpstart Connect programme in association with Kingston University, involving Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of air flow through directional ducting. VTOL went on to win a £200k LDA Development grant to fund a 2-year programme of work to take their technology from design specification stage to demonstrator model to attract investment funding to take the product into production. The project is supported by Professor John Allen of Kingston University who has an impressive background in the aviation field, having designed the Hawk and Supersonic Harrier jets whilst working for British Aerospace. His CV records that he has delivered 792 professional lectures, of which 55 were to the Royal Aeronautical Society.
VTOL Technologies Ltd is based at SEEDA's Reading Enterprise Hub and works closely with Farnborough's Enterprise Hub, which hosts the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium with which Kingston University has strong links.
Key achievements...
•Set up VTOL Technologies Ltd on his own, following an 80% staff downsizing by his previous employer, as a result of the backlash from the events of September 11th 2001.
•Secured an initial £350,000 of grant and equity investment in VTOL Technologies Ltd, within 12 months of starting the business.
•Has subsequently built up a team of 4 direct staff, 15 strategic suppliers as well as managing 2 technology transfer staff from the 2nd round investor, a major European aerospace and defence manufacturer/supplier.
•Secured a 2nd round total investment of £1.25M for the further development of the technology into a technology demonstrator for military applications
Equipment and aeronautic systems
Education
Hobbies
Skiing
, Hockey
, Piano
