Our Team
Advisory Council
Prof. Chris Baker
Prof. Chris Baker holds the University of Birmingham chair in intelligent sensor systems and previously held the position of Chief Technology Officer for Aveillant, a Thales company, as well as being an Ohio State Research Scholar in Integrated Sensor Systems at The Ohio State University.
He previously held the Thales-Royal Academy of Engineering Chair of intelligent radar systems based at University College London, and served as the Dean and Director of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the Australian National University (ANU) until 2011.
Prof. Baker has been actively engaged in radar systems research since 1984 and is the author of over 300 publications. His research interests include, coherent radar techniques, radar signal processing, radar signal interpretation, electronically scanned radar systems, radar imaging, natural and cognitive echo locating systems. He is a two-time recipient of the IEE Mountbatten premium, the IEE Institute premium, and is a Fellow of the IET and the IEEE.
Dave du Toit
As a valued Business Advisor to Dragonfly Aerospace, Dave is the former Group CEO of Space Commercial Services and also served as Chairman of the Board for one of the group companies. As Chief System Engineer for South Africa’s first aerospace company,Dave was also involved in the development and full launch of an EO satellite system.
He has represented a few international companies in executive positions and his experience spans a range of industries, including aerospace, telecommunications, IT services and consulting, as well as serving on the board of numerous companies. Dave holds a Bachelor's in Electronics from Stellenbosch University and a Higher Diploma in Telecommunications from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
Prof. Michael Inggs
Prof. Michael Inggs holds an Honours in Physics and Applied Mathematics from Rhodes University and a PhD, DIC from Imperial College London. Having worked in aerospace in the UK, USA, and South Africa, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1988, from where he retired in 2016. His research focuses on radar sensor networks, radar remote sensing, and high-performance computing, and he has over 210 journal and conference publications, four patents, and has supervised over 100 M.Sc and 20 Ph.D degrees to completion.
Prof. Inggs is a Senior Life Member of the IEEE, was a member of the Administration Committee of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society from, a Director of Education, member of IEEE AESS Radar Panel, and the convenor of the Professional Taught Masters Degree (MEng Radar) at UCT. In 2015, a paper in the IEEE AESS Magazine won the Harry Rowe Mimno Award for the UCT team.
Simon Godfrey
With a career spanning more than three decades, Simon Godfrey has worked with and advised a number of high-profile technology businesses helping them to navigate the complexities of the UK government. He has developed a deeper understanding between clients and suppliers, built strong foundational relationships, and has helped to facilitate the faster adoption and uptake of new technologies.
Simon has worked in and with a number of FTSE 500 businesses as well as many large enterprises. As Chair of techUK, the UK technology trade association body, Simon advocates and champions for access to innovation, SME enablement, and a broader set of opportunities to build differentiated value, jobs, and compelling technology propositions.
Imaging Team
Francois Mostert
Francois has worked in R&D within the automotive and aerospace industry for most of his career, working with teams that helped develop multiple successful systems and solutions.
He has a strong technical background and understanding of R&D and appreciates what makes a successful business in challenging environments. Francois holds a Master’s degree in Science and Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from Stellenbosch University.
Francois Van Der Walt
Francois has extensive experience as a project engineer and spent more than 10 years working in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC). He has valuable experience in product development with a focus on project management, as well as expertise in tendering and negotiation through to commissioning various projects. Francois holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pretoria.
Rob Craig
Rob began his career in thermal control and structural design and analysis of low Earth orbit satellites. This led to an interest in solving multiphysics problems, venturing into fluid structure interaction and non-linear analysis in product development of propulsion components.
With almost 10 years of experience, Rob’s specialised knowledge of precision optical engineering and product development stands him in good stead with the engineering team, where his primary work is on structural analysis and opto-mechanical design.
Janine Nicolson
With over 25 years of international satellite, media, and telecommunications experience, Janine is skilled in optimising company resources, building successful teams, and identifying opportunities for company expansion.
Prior to joining the Dragonfly team, Janine headed up business development and marketing at a privately-owned space system engineering and consulting company that focused on SAR and EO satellite constellations as well as SAR and compact hyperspectral imaging payloads. Janine is a strategic thinker who is ambitious, results-oriented, and has a track record of helping companies exceed their annual revenue targets.
Satellite Team
Bryan Dean
Bryan has extensive engineering experience in building complex space systems and is skilled in electronics, aerospace engineering, space system design and embedded software. As an Electrical System Architect, Bryan participated in creating the ExoMars Rover, Solar Orbiter, and Aeolus projects for the European Space Agency (ESA).
Bryan co-founded Dragonfly Aerospace in 2019 and raised funding to grow the company to over 100 employees, who developed and launched a class-leading 180 kg optical imaging satellite in just three years. Bryan aims to make Dragonfly Aerospace the top space imaging technology company in the world.
Hans Van Der Merwe
Hans has almost 30 years’ experience as a Senior Systems Engineer for multiple successful satellite projects. As a co-founder of Dragonfly Aerospace, his role as CTO enables him to specialise in requirements analysis and technical solution management for complex and highly reliable spacecraft systems.
Hans is proficient in systems design and architecture, configuration management, and requirements analysis and holds a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Stellenbosch University.
Schalk Olivier
With over 30 years’ experience in aerospace and having worked at some of South Africa’s inaugural space companies, Schalk gained valuable expertise at Houwteq Division of Denel, where he was the group leader of the satellite integration team and the Satellite System Manager responsible for the design and build of a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite. His acquired expertise in system engineering during the development of weapons systems has been enhanced and adopted in the design and specification of large business solution applications within the ICT environment.
Schalk’s expertise spans a range of industries, including financial services, business solutions, system integration, and ICT. He has extensive experience in project management with a keen interest in critical chain project management (CCPM) methodology.
Kannas Wiid
With over 10 years’ experience in spacecraft system engineering, and as a co-founder of Dragonfly Aerospace, Kannas is helping to scale and implement the company's plan to produce up to 48 spacecraft annually. Kannas holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Stellenbosch University.