Executive Board
Leading the Way into the Stratosphere
The HAPS Alliance Board is comprised of thought leaders in their respective fields. They have in-depth knowledge and extensive experience in their areas of specialization, including telecom, aerospace, communication technologies as well as emerging applications of Internet of Things (IoT), regulatory policy development, and more. To learn more about our executive team and directors, please access their bios below.
To learn more about our executive team and directors, please access their bios below.
Executive Board and Officers
President
Russ Van Der Werff serves as VP Stratospheric Solutions at Aerostar. Prior to this role he managed the Stratospheric Platform Design Team. Aerostar has been in the stratosphere since their founding in 1956, building systems for NASA, the US military, and commercial enterprises such as Loon. Aerostar balloons have logged over a million hours in the stratosphere over the last five years.
With over fifteen years of engineering and leadership experience, Russ helped grow the Aerostar engineering team from a couple dozen to more than one hundred engineers, designers, and technicians. He also serves as stratospheric ambassador, spreading the Gospel of Ballooning, and recently presented a HAPS-related TED talk
Prior to Aerostar, Russ was Director of Product Management for Sencore, a private company building video transcoders and satellite modulators for broadcast applications.
Russ holds Bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics, as well as a Master's degree in Business Administration.
Vice President
Jeff Smith serves as the Head of Mobile Connectivity, EU and APAC, at AALTO HAPS and is a Board Officer of the HAPS Alliance. He has been leading the connectivity strategy and business development activities in the Airbus Zephyr program. Jeff brings together strategist, marketer, and business development expertise with more than twenty-five years of experience spanning customer service, technical management, product development, marketing, MIS, business development, and senior strategic leadership roles across APAC, EMEA, and North America.
Treasurer
Léonard Bouygues is the Director of Aviation Strategy for Sceye, specializing in the integration of highly automated systems into the global airspace. His expertise spans the full altitude spectrum, focusing on the operational scaling of High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) and new entrants.
Prior to joining Sceye, Léonard acted as a strategic advisor to both the FAA and the aviation industry on the integration of large-scale automated fleets, ranging from drone delivery networks to stratospheric operations. As an Industry Subject Matter Expert, he helped the FAA shape ETM ConOps 2.0 and Higher Airspace Operations (HAO) concepts.
Previously, Léonard served as Director of Safety for Kittyhawk and Head of Mission Operations for Google Loon, where he oversaw a global network of automated HAPS with more than 2 million flight hours.
Léonard is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He holds a Master of Science in Management Studies from both MIT Sloan and HEC Paris, and a Master of Engineering in Aeronautics from Imperial College London.
Secretary
Advisory Board
Gregory Ewert serves as the Chief Commercial Officer & Managing Director, North America, at Stratospheric Platforms, Ltd., and as a Board Advisor for the HAPS Alliance. He is responsible for orchestrating global strategic partnerships and distribution across enterprises, military/government, and MNOs. Mr. Ewert has decades of experience in mobility, satellite, and traditional telecom applications. Prior executive experience spans international, MNOs and mobile satellites where he held various positions at Sprint, GlobalOne, BCE (Bell Canada), Iridium, Inmarsat, and Intelsat, most recently as Vice President of Strategy and Business Development.