The purpose of life is a life of purpose

Jeremy is a Canadian aerospace engineer and entrepreneur driven by an intense curiosity and duty toward people, systems, and their problems. For 10 years, he has led teams of all sizes to advance dual-use aerial robotics and regional air mobility, resulting in the development and entry to service of novel NATO Class I drones, ultralights, Part 23 small airplanes, airborne payloads, and multi-robot teaming software with high levels of autonomy. Jeremy’s ability to integrate strategy and operations has yielded $100M+ in B2B/B2G revenue and LOIs while subsidizing 70% of product development via grants and tax credits. His work has earned various accolades such as recognition among Canada’s Next 36 promising entrepreneurs and Aviation Week Network & AIAA’s 20 Twenties list of rising leaders.

Originally from Scarborough, Jeremy’s foray into aerospace started in high school, assisting research on vision-based aircraft collision avoidance at York University. In university, Jeremy progressed through technical and leadership roles at the University of Toronto Aerospace Team (UTAT) where he built, flew, and published research on award-winning drones, rockets, and satellites. Jeremy ended his time there as Executive Director having doubled annual sponsorships to $19M. Jeremy worked briefly on liquid rocket engines at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and on-orbit servicing at the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) before serving three years as CTO at The Sky Guys—Canada’s top commercial drone operator. As CTO, Jeremy founded a self-sufficient engineering division developing small and medium drones (<150kg) for industrial and military SOF clients. He also led the design of low-SWaP payloads for surveying and spraying, conducted the first drone flight in Canada to use a 5G C4ISR link, and helped scale operations across North America.

Today, Jeremy is the co-founder and COO of Ribbit, an airline that builds and operates dual-use self-flying airplanes to serve rural, coastal, and remote regions. Ribbit is partnered with several wholesalers who spend $73M/yr on air freight into remote Indigenous communities. Ribbit is also a federal contractor to TC, NRC, RCAF, and DRDC, delivering advanced capabilities in autonomy for air and joint operations. In 2023, Ribbit was credited with the first hands-free gate-to-gate flight in the country. Jeremy also supports the broader community through his service to universities (e.g. U of T, UW, RMC), colleges (e.g. Centennial, George Brown), associations (e.g. AIAA, CASI, RTCA), government (e.g. CanaDAC, CFAWC, NATO), and events (e.g. NASA Space Apps). Jeremy is a sought-after speaker and subject-matter expert on technology, startups, policy, and leadership in aerospace and defence.

Jeremy holds a BASc in Engineering Science (Toronto) and a PhD in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering (Waterloo), where he developed exact, approximate, and machine learning techniques for simulating high-speed flows with non-ideal thermodynamics. He continues to support academia as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo and Royal Military College of Canada, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Drone Systems and Applications. Besides work, he plays piano, reads WWII history, and enjoys trying new food and learning new languages with his wife. Jeremy believes that anyone can lead, everyone must lead no matter their title, and the best leaders do so by example, expertise, and empathy.

Last Update: 2025-05-10