World View taps drone-industry veteran as new CEO | Business…

Stratospheric balloon company World View Enterprises has tapped a drone-industry veteran to become its new CEO.

The Tucson-based company named Ryan Hartman, former CEO of Boeing’s Insitu unmanned aircraft subsidiary, to replace co-founder Jane Poynter as chief executive.

Poynter will remain as a strategic advisor and member of World View’s board of directors, the company said.

Hartman spent eight years with Washington-based Insitu, including a three-year stint as CEO before leaving in January 2018.

Founded in 1994 and acquired by Boeing in 2008, Insitu makes the small ScanEagle reconnaissance drones used by the U.S. and more than 20 nations.

A former Navy pilot, Hartman is no stranger to Tucson after working as a program manager and director of unmanned systems and advanced programs at Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems from 2004 to 2010.

At World View, Hartman will lead the company transformation from technology development to scaled operations and product development, the company said.

World View’s Stratollite balloon craft is designed to be a long-endurance stratospheric flight vehicle capable of loitering over areas of interest for remote sensing and communications.

“The world’s appetite for new and improved sources of information is increasing rapidly and we believe World View, particularly with further development and deployment of the Stratollite, will play an important role in the evolution of a more intelligent world,” Tom Ingersoll, executive chairman of World View’s board, said in a news release.

Poynter said in a prepared statement she was honored to serve as CEO and is pleased with Hartman’s appointment.

“We’ve made amazing progress and have built a strong foundation for the company to thrive under Mr. Hartman’s leadership,” Poynter said. “I couldn’t be happier with his appointment and the board and I are confident that, as a seasoned leader with unrivaled aerial systems expertise, he is the right person to build on our momentum and carry the vision forward.”

Hartman is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy and a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

“I’m fortunate to have inherited a very healthy business,” Hartman said. “We have an exceptionally talented team, a committed and world-class investor base, and a clear roadmap for growth and success.”

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