Judges
Airwards Judges Year 2 (21/22)
Here you can find the list of judges’ names for our current year. With experts covering all of our categories, our new judges this year are leaders in robotics, training, air traffic management, aviation science and humanitarian aid - to name but a few.
Gemma Alcock
Wayne Baker
Catherine (Dr.) Ball
Will Barnes
James Bell
Gareth Beverley
Rabih Bou Rashid
Chris Daniels
Olivier (Dr.) Defawe
Romeo Durscher
Andi Fisanich
Julie Garland
David Guerin
Fatema Hamdani
Mahmood Hussein
Louise Jupp
Tautvydas Juskauskas
Duncan Lees
Ellie Mackay
Mafunase Malenga
Pippa (Dr.) Malmgren
Eugene Maseya
Simon Masters
Queen Ndlovu
Stephen Oh
Anna Plaster
Uttam Pudasaini
Tiamiyou Radji
Simon Ritterband
Simon Robinson
Ramón Roche
Ruchi (Dr.) Saxena
Smit Shah
Will Stamatopoulos
Antonios Tsourdos
Mark Watson
Charles Werner
Gareth Whatmore
Gemma Alcock
FOUNDER | SKYBOUND RESCUER
An award-winning innovator and thought-leader in the use of drones for public safety. She is committed and passionate about creating a future in which drones will be a tool for saving lives.
Wayne Baker
PUBLIC SAFETY INTEG. | DJI
A 26-yr veteran of the fire service, serving 10 as Fire Chief for the City of Joshua, Texas. A founding member of the PS-UAS Response Team, worked with DJI to test and evaluate new drone platforms.
Dr. Catherine Ball
ASSOC. PROFESSOR | AUSTRALIAN NAT. UNI.
A business pioneer, advisor, author, speaker, exe. producer, exec. / comp. director, and futurist working on global projects where tech meets humanitarian, education, and environmental needs.
James Bell
INNOV. STRAT. LEAD | CAA-UK
James is passionate about engineering, aviation and technology. He started out in the MOD a decade ago, and worked for the DfT for a number of years before moving to the CAA in 2019.
Gareth Beverley
MANAGING DIRECTOR | CONSORTIQ
Technology veteran and passionate about innovation. His 20+ yr career in technology across diverse industries from insurance to Air Traffic Control give him a unique perspective on the drone industry.
Rabih Bou Rashid
CEO | FEDS
A believer in the power of innovation, closing the gap between drone technology and industry-needs by helping people globally from boardrooms to international forums understand drones.
Dr. Olivier Defawe
DIRECTOR | VILLAGEREACH
Extensive experience designing and executing last mile health care delivery programs, with a focus on immunization supply chains in five countries, working with ministries and local partners.
Romeo Durscher
VICE PRESIDENT | AUTERION
A top industry exec. in UAS with particular focus on public safety. Also an author and aerial photographer, science educator, social media leader and conference keynote speaker.
Andi Fisanich
HEAD OF HUMANITARIAN | WINGCOPTER
Andi has always worked at the nexus between economic dev., innovation and entrepreneurship. Her World Bank and Africa Drone Forum roles has opened up vital avenues to humanitarian work.
David Guerin
SAFETY & OPS. | AFRICAN DRONE FORUM
Over 30 years across all facets of ATM and decades of experience as a volunteer research expert at international level with focus on Australia and Europe. He is currently a consultant at the World Bank.
Fatema Hamdani
CO-FOUNDER | KRAUS AEROSPACE
Breaking world records with UAVs while unlocking their potential to augment and save lives. Applying this to everything from disaster relief and anti-poaching ops. to military intelligence and recce.
Mahmood Hussein
CEO | GLOBAL DRONE SOLUTIONS
A seasoned Snr. Exec. with national and multi-national market leaders in the Mining, Automotive and Adv. Mfg. industries. GDS harnesses drone technology to solve social and business issues.
Tautvydas Juskauskas
DRONE SPECIALIST | UNICEF SUPPLY DIV.
Passionate int. dev. prof. with proven experience in humanitarian affairs, stakeholder management, programme management, donor relations, procurement, public policy and government relations.
Duncan Lees
3D SCAN SPEC. | VISUALSKIES
A leader in terrestrial LIDAR scanning, cyber scanning, HD 3D mapping, close range laser scanning, and VR environments as well as aerial based photography services with Visualskies.
Ellie Mackay
FOUNDER | ELLIPSIS EARTH
Scientist, filmmaker and extreme environment drone pilot, her vision is to create an integrated ecosystem for environmental change, through global research, education and exploration.
Dr. Pippa Malmgren
ECONOMIC ADVISOR | VARIOUS COMPANIES
An economist and award-winning author, she is focused on simple sense making of the world economy. Chairman of the BSI subcommittee on drone manufacturing standards and lecturer.
Eugene Maseya
CO-FOUNDER | MAMABIRD
Addressing health inequalities in rural Malawi in last mile delivery as well as being dedicated to women’s rights, STEM education and progressing the African continent in the future of global technology.
Simon Masters
DEP. DRCT. FUTURE FLIGHT | UKRI
Deliver key aviation R&D programmes. With a background in the aerospace industry has held key roles in Innovate UK and positions in the civil and military aerospace sectors (Airbus and BAE).
Stephen Oh
FOUNDER | XM2 PURSUIT
Aerial cinematography veteran with 20 years of global experience in the film industry. His unique combination of managerial + technical skills has led to breakthroughs in camera movement and control.
Anna Plaster
FOUNDER | OASIS
With a focus on nurturing and developing relationships with strategic stakeholders, she is passionate about disruptive technologies and supporting SDGs with various global initiatives.
Uttam Pudasaini
CO-FOUDER | NAXA
A social-tech entrepreneur working since 2014 on the design and dev. of spatial and digital tech to address local dev. challenges and disaster mgt. issues, also Exec. Director at Nepal Flying Labs.
Simon Ritterband
FOUNDER | MOONROCK INSURANCE
An ardent supporter of enhanced safety and risk mitigation. He sits on a number of gov. / advisory boards providing insight and expertise in the specialised areas of drone / autonomous insurance.
Simon Robinson
FOUNDER | INSPIRE AFRICA
Over 20 years int. global experience in marketing, events, and sports bodies. Has launched the IA STEAM programme, a practical and fun way to introduce applied learning in schools with focus on drones.
Ramón Roche
PROGRAM MGR. | DRONECODE FOUNDATION
Vast exp. as a technical collaborator, and as an exec. for a non-profit. Works on Open Source Robotics, with Linux foundation, PX4 dev. team and previously at 3DRobotics.
Smit Shah
DIRECTOR | DRONE FEDERATION OF INDIA
A drone policy and industry expert, his work with leading drone companies create opportunities and accelerate growth of the industry in India. Passionate about leveraging the power of data.
Will Stamatopoulos
DIRECTOR OF AVIATION OPS. | MIRRAGIN
An IFALPA Rep. to the ICAO RPASP, Airline Pilot for Qantas and Director / CRP for In Motion Aero. He works to develop standards / practices facilitating safe and secure airspace integration of drones.
Prof. Antonios Tsourdos
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH | CRANFIELD UNI.
Head of the Centre for Autonomous and Cyber-Physical Systems for over a decade. A member of Team Stellar, winning the UK MoD Grand Challenge, he holds various editorial board member positions.
Charles Werner
DIRECTOR | DRONERESPONDERS
Uniting aerial first responders, emergency managers, and SAR specialists under a unified org. to help learn, train, and testing together to maximise drone operations for public safety.
Gareth Whatmore
CO-FOUNDER | DRONEPREP
Seasoned transport planner and #dronesforgood advocate responsible for engineering Royal Mail's first ever drone delivery. Passionate about connecting users and opening low-level airspace.
Judge Yr3
TBA | TBA
We still have 2 spaces available to be an Airwards Judge. We want to keep to a manageable number yet give breadth and depth of experience to our entrants. Register your interest below.
Judge Yr3
TBA | TBA
We still have 2 spaces available to be an Airwards Judge. We want to keep to a manageable number yet give breadth and depth of experience to our entrants. Register your interest below.
