DroneUp Expands into Europe with Strategic Hire

DroneUp in Europe: Appointment of industry veteran Seb Babiarz as New Head of European Airspace Innovation

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Autonomous drone delivery platform and leading drone services provider DroneUp has announced the appointment of Sebastian “Seb” Babiarz as its Poland-based head of European airspace innovation.

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With 20 years of drone and telecom experience, Babiarz was recently COO of drone-in-a-box provider Dronehub, and previously served as head of strategic business development at AirMap, which was acquired by DroneUp last year. Babiarz has also held the role of Head of AMS Drone Business at Nokia, where he created and grew business opportunities for drone services for mobile networks globally.

Having been focused on bringing safe and reliable commercial drone delivery and inspection services across the United States, DroneUp now looks to the growing European market. There, the focus is on commercial drone regulations, in contrast to the North American market’s focus on scaling operations. Through a recent expansion with Walmart, DroneUp has provided delivery to 4 million U.S. households, in addition to serving in a fundamental role on the FAA’s Beyond Visual Line of Site (BVLOS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee.

“DroneUp has accomplished tremendous results over the past few years, and I couldn’t be more excited to join the organization as it looks to bring more exposure and validity to commercial drone services across Europe,” said Seb Babiarz. “DroneUp has proven know-how and ability to tackle the work that needs to be done when it comes to local commercial drone services. With its recent success and growth through its partnership with Walmart, I look forward to helping DroneUp prove widespread scale is capable of drone delivery and services. DroneUp’s focus and attention to safety, technology, and the preparation of its flight teams is something that attracted me. I look forward to bringing these operations to the European market that has been focused on its regulatory needs.”

After acquiring AirMap, DroneUp has dedicated itself to unifying the global leaders in commercial drone technology. Babiarz’s prior experience with AirMap will enable DroneUp to advance its goal throughout the European market. As a result of its recent success and expansion with Walmart and others, DroneUp is currently in position to supply a complete offering to the European market.

“I couldn’t be more excited to have Seb join our team,” said Andy Thurling, DroneUp’s VP of airspace innovation. “Seb not only brings two decades of experience to our team but a true passion to align the right products, technologies, and systems to deliver on what our customers are asking for today. I look forward to partnering closely with him as we expand our reach and ability across the European market.”

“DroneUp has a solid business case in the United States through its work with Walmart, and I look forward to helping bring these capabilities to European organizations soon,” added Babiarz.

Read more about DroneUp:

• The DroneUp Drone Delivery Model: Why Second Mover Advantage Has Put Them Out in Front
• DroneUp Acquires Airmap: Another Move Towards Drone Ops on a Very, Very Big Scale
• DroneUp Launches Multi-Site Walmart Drone Delivery Service in Arkansas
• Smart City Drone Delivery: DroneUp in Ontario, CA;Community, Connectivity, and Convenience
• DroneUp Selected for FAA BVLOS ARC

 

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.