FAIRFAX, VA, February 12, 2018 – The Board of Directors of DZYNE Technologies Incorporated (DZYNE) announced today that Dr. Thomas Strat, formerly a senior technology advisor to the company, has been elevated to President and CEO effective immediately. Dr. Strat will oversee all aspects of the company as it continues its rapid growth in the development of autonomous aircraft technologies. As DZYNE moves forward into their next phase, so will Mr. Darrell Gillette, one of DZYNE’s founders and former CEO. “The Board is thankful for Mr. Gillette’s service and leadership to the company during his tenure,” said Matthew McCue, Vehicle DZYNE Studios Division Vice President and DZYNE Board Member.
DZYNE’s Chief Scientist and founding member, Mark Page said “Tom Strat will have a huge impact on the company’s future. Tom brings an aggressive management style and strong personal leadership to the top of the firm. Both strengths are needed to sustain our growth and prepare for future investments and achievements.” DZYNE’s new President and CEO, Thomas Strat said, “My mission is to execute DZYNE’s very exciting business plan guided by the Board’s vision and driven by the energy and talents of our employees, all of whom are committed to the success of the company and its partners.” Dr. Strat’s vision is to combine DZYNE’s sensor processing and analytics software capabilities with its well-known aero design capability, which will result in new levels of autonomy within DZYNE’s expanding suite of manned and unmanned aircraft.
Dr. Thomas Strat has over 30 years of senior management experience and is a recognized leader in autonomous vehicle research and development. He has a unique blend of hands-on experience ranging from computer vision and artificial intelligence to autonomous ground and air vehicles.
Prior to joining DZYNE, Dr. Strat was the Senior Vice President and Director of the Image & Video Understanding Division of SET Corporation, a small business specializing in smart sensing technologies and counter-bomber systems for the defense and intelligence markets. SET was subsequently acquired by SAIC, now known as Leidos Corporation.
Previously, Dr. Strat served eight years as Program Manager and Assistant Director of the Information Exploitation Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he was responsible for DARPA’s Sensor Exploitation programs. He also served as Deputy Director of DARPA’s Grand Challenge for Autonomous Ground Vehicles, an historic event which catalyzed the creation of the self-driving car industry.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Strat was a co-founder of ObjectVideo, Inc., where he served as Chief Technology Officer in charge of development of the world’s first object-based video compression engine and commercial video surveillance systems. Dr. Strat began his career at the SRI Artificial Intelligence Center as a research scientist and project leader, where he designed and implemented computer vision, robotic and evidential reasoning systems. He has published more than 120 scientific conference and journal articles and authored or edited several books on computer vision.
Dr. Strat received a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, an MS in Artificial Intelligence from MIT, and a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University. He has served as an officer in the US Army for 14 years on active duty and reserves.
Dr. Strat has a track record of successfully growing start-up technology firms into multi-million dollar businesses. His vision combined with extensive industry knowledge and recognized business acumen will help launch DZYNE towards new levels of growth and innovation in the unmanned systems market.
DZYNE Technologies Incorporated (DZYNE) is a creator of innovative, intelligent, autonomous aircraft, including manned and unmanned vehicles and analytic systems. DZYNE’s world-class team employs state-of-the-art design methodologies and production processes that result in highly efficient systems developed on very compressed timelines. DZYNE is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia with three operating divisions: the Vehicle DZYNE Studio in Irvine, California; DZYNE Analytic Systems in Fairfax, Virginia and DZYNE Technical Services in Tucson, Arizona.