Today we are excited to announce the appointment of Errol Farr as Auterion’s Vice President of Government Business Development.
Errol join’s us from AeroVironment, where he held the role of Senior Director of Strategy and Business Development. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Errol spent 10 years at ITT (now L3Harris) in roles ranging from Regional Director to Corporate Regional Representative for Europe and Africa. Errol has 20 years of Business Development experience in both Domestic and International markets.
Errol will lead business development for Auterion’s ecosystem of products for government Defense and Security customers. He will work with customers in both North America and Internationally to provide the customization, flexibility and security available with Auterion’s NDAA compliant and Blue sUAS compatible platform.
“We’re excited to have Errol join our senior team during a period of significant expansion at Auterion,” said David Sharpin, CEO of Auterion Government Solutions. “As we continue to transform sUAS for Government use with our open-source ecosystem, Errol’s extensive expertise in business development will help us provide more cutting-edge drone solutions like the Quantum Systems Vector and Vantage Robotics Vesper to our customers to operate safer and more efficiently.”
“I have followed Auterion for some time and am very excited about joining the team. Government customers are asking for modular, open architecture and Auterion provides just that” said Errol Farr on joining Auterion. “The ability to have a true open systems approach that allows seamless integration of new, exciting technologies and capabilities is game changing.”
We are thrilled to have Errol onboard! Learn more about Errol, and what he has to share about joining Auterion.
- Errol, tell us more about yourself?
I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and have called Huntsville, Alabama home since 2004. My wife (of 27 years) and I are both Veterans and are proud parents of 2 grown sons. Prior to joining Auterion-GS, I spent 6 and half years at AeroVironment in numerous Domestic and International BD roles, the most recent being Senior Director of Strategy and BD. Prior to AV, I spent 10 years at ITT (now L3Harris) in numerous BD roles ranging from Regional Director to Corporate Regional Representative for Europe and Africa. I have 20 years of BD experience in both Domestic and International markets including Corporate Development, Strategy, M&A, B2B relationships and Capture Management.
- What are you most excited about in joining Auterion?
I have followed Auterion for some time and am very excited about what they bring to the drone industry. I constantly hear from government customers the desire for modular, open architecture and Auterion provides just that. The ability to have a true open systems approach that allows seamless integration of new, exciting technologies and capabilities is game changing. Our customers demand the best possible system solutions and Auterion provides the software ecosystem to integrate the newest capabilities across multiple domains.
- How do you think Auterion and open source standards will impact the drone industry?
Auterion has already had a major impact within the drone industry. A great example is Auterion’s involvement in creating the Blue sUAS architecture and how open architecture can also be secure and approved for the most demanding of customers. The work on the Army’s Short Range Recon (SRR) program is another great example of Auterion, DIU and the US Army working together to provide a secure, open architecture system for soldiers. I believe Auterion and the open architecture standard will continue to have a major impact within the industry.
- What do you love the most about the drone industry?
What I love most is hearing the stories from end users about how these systems have saved lives. There’s really no better testament to the power of drones than hearing that, it’s truly inspirational and drives me to always get them the best possible solutions.
- What are the biggest challenges that you think the government will face in the coming years that are solved with drone systems?
I believe the biggest challenge will be to effectively integrate robotics and unmanned systems from “mud to space”. There’s a lot of very good work already being done in this area and having systems with open architecture and standards greatly help this integration and system capability. Introduction of AI, Machine Learning and Edge Computing will continue to change the drone industry, the capabilities they provide and the complex problems they can solve.