Autonomous aviation business Reliable Robotics has hired Russ Elmer as its general counsel, a newly created position.
Elmer joins from US artificial intelligence and cloud computing business ServiceNow, where he was GC before transitioning to a special counsel role earlier this year. At Reliable Robotics he will build the company’s legal and regulatory infrastructure and capabilities, and provide strategic guidance to support its growth. He brings more than three decades of experience to the role.
Mountain View, California-based Reliable Robotics develops autonomous aircraft systems for the commercial and defence aviation sectors.
Robert Rose, CEO and co-founder of Reliable Robotics, said: “Russ has a noteworthy track record with companies that have become commonplace in our daily lives. At Reliable, our goal is to make aviation more accessible to more people through autonomy. I’m excited to welcome Russ to the team as we certify and commercialise the technology that will make this vision a reality.”
Elmer spent just under eight years at ServiceNow, having previously been GC at peer-to-peer lending platform Lending Club. He had earlier in-house spells at Paypal and eBay, both as deputy GC.
Elmer said: “I am inspired by Reliable’s mission of making flight safer and more accessible. I have always been drawn to technology that makes everyday life better, and Reliable’s cutting-edge flight control system is poised to do just that. I am thrilled to join the team to help translate our autonomous aviation technology into certified flights and to continue our culture of changing the world – the right way.”
ServiceNow hired former Microsoft chief legal officer Hossein Nowbar back in January as its CLO, replacing Elmer as the company’s legal head.
In other autonomous tech-related moves, back in April, subsea robotics business Nauticus Robotics hired Michael Ferrier as GC from energy company Berry Corporation, where he was assistant GC advising on commercial transactions, regulatory compliance and labour and employment matters. He replaced John Symington in the role.
And in June last year, robot chef-maker Circus Group – which makes autonomous meal supply systems for the military – hired Sasha Borovik as GC from defence tech company Helsing.
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