Joel Bredow, President & CEO
Passionately motivated by technology and electronics since early childhood, Mr. Bredow knows a thing or two about drones and their capabilities. Since the infancy of today’s drone technology Mr. Bredow has worked diligently to position himself and his thermal technology company, IR Distro, to be at the vanguard of the industry when at last the rest of the world realizes just how significant a role UAV’s will take in our lives.
With an inherent ability to predict market trends and a keen understanding of logistics, certain that a marriage between thermal imaging and UAV’s is inevitable, Mr. Bredow worked tirelessly to ensure he would be ready to display his own technology to the world when it was ready to embrace what he knew would be the next wave of the future: In 2014, Mr. Bredow and IR Distro announced the IR Distro camera at the first annual drone show in the United States and the L.A. Drone Expo. Side by side with the largest name in thermal technology, Mr. Bredow proudly and confidently provided an alternative option to what has presently dominated the thermal technology market, introducing his state-of-the-art product.
Having developed relationships with various entities throughout the UAV and thermal imaging world, Mr. Bredow works closely with manufacturers and other professionals who can quickly engineer and prototype new parts, tailored specifically toward our applications. As the CEO & President of Phoenix UAS, with his experience in the UAV world, a genuine understanding of customer demands and a drive to deliver, Mr. Bredow is to Phoenix what thermal imaging is to a Search & Rescue drone.
Mike Elliott, LCDR, United States Navy, Retired; Chief Operating Officer
Mike Elliott joined the U.S. Navy in 1985 as a Nuclear Propulsion Machinist Mate and served aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71 for two years. He was commissioned via the Enlisted Commissioning Program receiving his B.S. in Physical Science and commission in 93’.
Trained as a Surface Warfare Officer after commissioning, Mr. Elliott was first assigned to USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) as the Ordnance Officer. He was then assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) as the Assistant First Lieutenant. After attending Department Head School he served as Combat Systems Officer on USS Caron (DD-970) and later as Information Systems and Combat Systems Officer on USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81). During OIF he was selected to be a Tactical Action Officer and planner for DESRON 2 to support the opening engagements of OIF. He then returned to finish his tour on Winston S. Churchill and was then assigned as the Operations Officer to COMNAVSURFGRU MIDPAC in Pearl Harbor Hawaii, where he managed operations, deployment planning, training and readiness as he supervised 11 surface ships which included 3 Aegis cruisers, 5 Aegis destroyers and an ARS salvage ship. He deployed to Bahrain to work as the Tactical Fleet Command Center Director for the Commander 5th Fleet from 2005-2006 in support of OIF and OEF.
He was qualified as an enlisted Nuclear Engineer, Officer of the Deck on 4 different classes of U.S. Naval combatants and Tactical Action Officer qualified on 2 classes of U.S. Naval combatants. He received an MBA in 2006 from University of Phoenix and a B.S.I.T in Information Systems Security in 2013. After serving for nearly 23 years, Mr. Elliott retired from the U.S. Navy and was hired by SAIC to fill the BMD Planner position for JTF 519. Currently he works as a Surface Maritime Operational Planner for the Commander Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor Hawaii.
Euan Ramsay, Director of Research & Development
As a seasoned drone builder and designer, Mr. Ramsay specializes in drone technology and systems that work in the real world. After years as a hobbyist, three years ago, Mr. Ramsay began building and flying UAVs after recognizing the practical side of drone technology during a rescue mission of sheep for a local farmer. Since that day, he has been designing products for professional and humanitarian causes.
Mr. Ramsay is the founder of Performance UAV which is an extension of his personal ethos of making drones practical. Performance UAV specializes in payload systems that add value to customers and humanitarian organizations including but not limited to: technology such as cargo systems, stabilized camera and light platforms, specialized airframe design, workflow & process design and integration with business processes.
As Director of R&D & European Markets, Mr. Ramsay brings to Phoenix UAS years of build & test experience (particularly in multirotor platforms), a holistic approach to drone integration into existing workflows, a genuine understanding of what customers desire and a critical eye for new technology that adds value.
Based near Zurich, Switzerland, Mr. Ramsay provides a solid European base for Phoenix UAS’ global Expansion.