DroneShield announced the appointment of Michael Powell as Chief Operating Officer, reinforcing the company’s operational leadership as it enters its next phase of global growth.
The appointment follows a period of accelerated expansion for DroneShield, including increased activity across Europe and the United States, rising demand from defence, government, and critical-infrastructure customers, and a major expansion of manufacturing capacity at the company’s Alexandria, New South Wales facility. The expanded site significantly increases production throughput, shortens delivery timelines, and strengthens supply-chain resilience, positioning DroneShield to support long-term programs of record and sustained global demand.
Powell brings more than 25 years of senior executive and operational leadership experience across defense, aerospace, secure communications, simulation, railway and critical infrastructure markets. His career includes senior roles such as Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director, and Operations Director at leading international organizations including Thales Australia and Knorr-Bremse, where he led large, multinational teams and managed complex, multi-hundred-million-dollar operational portfolios.
Across these roles, Powell has built and scaled global manufacturing and supply-chain operations, led international business turnarounds, and delivered large-scale operational transformation programs, balancing execution discipline with the demands of high-reliability, mission-critical customers.
As Chief Operating Officer, Powell will be responsible for scaling DroneShield’s global operations, strengthening delivery and sustainment capability, and aligning engineering, manufacturing, and supply-chain functions to support the company’s expanding product portfolio and growing international customer base. His appointment reflects DroneShield’s focus on operational excellence as counter-UAS capability becomes embedded within national security, public safety, and critical-infrastructure protection frameworks worldwide.
“Michael is a proven operator with deep experience delivering complex programs at global scale,” said Oleg Vornik, Chief Executive of DroneShield. “As demand for counter-UAS capability continues to accelerate, his leadership will be instrumental in ensuring DroneShield scales with discipline, resilience, and a relentless focus on customer outcomes.”
Powell has lived and worked across Australia, Asia-Pacific, United States, Europe, and the Middle East. He holds a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Engineering and is a Chartered Professional Engineer, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers.
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