Leadership
Our leadership team is laser-focused on helping customers like you gain insights from drone-acquired data to better inform business decisions.
Our leadership team brings decades of experience in aviation, drones, software development and data analytics to solve your biggest challenges in this space. We are light on our feet and stay ready to pivot as the tides change within the industry. Get to know our leadership team below.
Meet Our Leadership Team
Tom Davis
Chief Executive Officer
Tom Davis | Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Davis comes to Aerial Vantage following five years as the Vice President of Science and Research Programs at Crown Consulting Inc. Mr. Davis successfully transformed Crown into a world leader in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) concepts, implementation and market studies including support for state DOTs implementation of groundbreaking UAS and AAM concepts. In North Carolina, Mr. Davis was a key contributor for the state DOT’s initiation of several UAS ‘firsts in flight’ including flights crossing busy surface traffic, commercial routine package delivery operations of over 10,000 medical tests to date, statewide UAS Traffic Management concepts and beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) statewide bridge inspections.
Jim Gardner
Chief Operating Officer
Jim Gardner | Chief Operating Officer
Jim Gardner recently transitioned out of the Navy after a successful military career as an E-2 Hawkeye Naval Flight Officer, including seven operational deployments and a tour as commanding officer. He brings 25 years of experience in military aviation, Joint service command and control (C2), and battle management. He directs Mosaic’s R&D Business Unit and oversees all engineering and analyst personnel.
Jarrod Lichty
Vice President Product
Jarrod Lichty | Vice President Product
Energetic, results-driven aviation professional, leader in forging strategic relationships and partnerships to foster company growth; unique combination of technical, domain, management, and sales/business development expertise matured over 15 years brings a distinctive, informed perspective to the development, execution, and evolution of Mosaic’s products and services. Executive Masters Natural Resources, Virginia Tech | B.S. Meteorology, Valparaiso University
Darryl Jenkins
Senior Economic Advisor
Darryl Jenkins | Senior Economic Advisor
Bill Keating
Director Flight Operations
Bill Keating | Director Flight Operations
Meet Our Board of Directors
Chris Brinton
Chairman of the Board
Chris Brinton | Chairman of the Board
More than two decades of R&D experience in logistics. Founded Mosaic Data Science in 2014 and Mosaic ATM in 2004. Leads numerous analytics projects focused on improving the efficiency and safety of the National Airspace system. MS Electrical Engineering, Stanford | BSE Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton
Tom Davis
Chief Executive Officer
Tom Davis | Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Davis comes to Aerial Vantage following five years as the Vice President of Science and Research Programs at Crown Consulting Inc. Mr. Davis successfully transformed Crown into a world leader in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) concepts, implementation and market studies including support for state DOTs implementation of groundbreaking UAS and AAM concepts. In North Carolina, Mr. Davis was a key contributor for the state DOT’s initiation of several UAS ‘firsts in flight’ including flights crossing busy surface traffic, commercial routine package delivery operations of over 10,000 medical tests to date, statewide UAS Traffic Management concepts and beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) statewide bridge inspections.
Prior to Crown, Mr. Davis spent over 36 years at the NASA Ames Research Center in California, directing research in airspace automation including integration of autonomous unmanned systems into the National Airspace System. At NASA, he played a key role in significant joint NASA-FAA air traffic management research initiatives, contributing to developing advanced automation systems that are now operating daily in the U.S. airspace. Mr. Davis retired as the Chief of the Aviation Systems Division at Ames in 2016.
Mr. Davis has a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. He has been awarded NASA’s Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal, Exceptional Service Medal and Outstanding Leadership Medal in addition to NASA’s Software of the Year award.
Darryl Jenkins
Senior Economic Advisor
Darryl Jenkins | Senior Economic Advisor
Ben Baldanza
Board Member
Ben Baldanza | Board Member
Basil Ben Baldanza is an economist and was the chief executive officer and president of Spirit Airlines from 2005 to 2016, a period in which he led the transformation of the company into an ultra-low-cost carrier.
Heidi Heitkamp
Board Member
Heidi Heitkamp | Board Member
Senator Heidi Heitkamp was the first woman elected to the US Senate from North Dakota. She served for six years in the Senate. She served on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. She also served as the 28th North Dakota attorney general and as the 20th North Dakota tax commissioner. Senator Heitkamp is a contributor to CNBC and ABC. She also serves on numerous nonprofit boards
Chairman Buck McKeon
Board Member
Chairman Buck McKeon | Board Member
Zachary Smith
Board Member
Zachary Smith | Board Member
Mr. Smith joined Crescent Capital Group (CCG) in 2018 as a Managing Director on the Investors Relations team. He is responsible for developing and managing strategic relationships with institutional investors, specifically financial institutions for Crescent. Prior to joining Crescent, Zachary was a Managing Director at Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) within their Insurance Asset Management Practice. Mr. Smith spent 18 years at WFAM in a variety of roles including business development, relationship management, and portfolio management. Mr. Smith is a graduate of the Eccles School of Business (University of Utah).