DENVER, Colorado – June 28, 2017 – Frank L. Steeves, portfolio company General Counsel of KKR, a New York-based private equity firm and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Washington University Law School in St. Louis, has joined the Board of Directors of Bye Aerospace, a world leader in the development of solar-electric aircraft. Mark W. Johnson, Co-founder and Senior Partner of Innosight, a strategic innovation consulting and investing company, has re-joined the Bye Aerospace board.
“We are privileged to welcome Frank and Mark, who are both passionate aviation enthusiasts and experienced business executives, to our board, said George Bye, CEO and Founder of Bye Aerospace. “Their experiences in strategizing complex, international transactions are particularly relevant as we continue to expand our global reach.”
Before joining KKR, Steeves was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Emerson Electric Company, where he managed Emerson’s legal operations in more than 150 countries. Prior to Emerson, he was Vice Chairman of the Milwaukee law firm, von Briesen and Roper. Steeves is a member of the Board of Directors of Metajure Inc. of Seattle, and many not-for-profit organizations, including the St. Louis Opera Company. He also is an author and frequent lecturer, in the U.S. and internationally, on the impact of globalization on business law development.
“Bye Aerospace is the one company that can bring the dream of practical, FAA certified, safe electric-powered flight, into reality,” Steeves said. “I am privileged to be a part of this historic enterprise.”
Johnson has been a strategic advisor to both Global 1000 and start-up companies in industries including automotive, health care, aerospace/defense, enterprise IT, energy and consumer packaged goods. He is a frequent writer and speaker on helping companies envision and create new growth, manage transformation and achieve renewal through business model innovation, and is coauthor ofDual Transformation: How to Reposition Today’s Business While Creating the Future. He is also the author of the best-selling book Seizing the White Space: Business Model Innovation for Growth and Renewal.
“I look forward to participating with the board of Bye Aerospace to help guide the company’s transition from its pioneering development to prototype first-flight and soon to providing this remarkable solar-electric pseudo-satellite technology to customers,” Johnson said. “As a fellow pilot and airplane owner, the compelling economics of electric aviation are important to me. Lower operating costs of $3 per flight hour of electricity as compared to $40 per flight hour for aviation gasoline is absolutely game-changing. I look forward to working with Bye Aerospace leadership to bring the low operating cost access and enjoyment of flying to flight training schools and an entire new generation of pilots.”
One of Bye Aerospace’s primary programs, “StratoAirNet,” was recently shown to be valuable in extending the reach of theater of battle early warning and detection capabilities while providing a potential for significant savings in acquisition, operations and maintenance costs. Potential commercial mission applications for StratoAirNet include communications relay, internet, mapping, search and rescue, firefighting command and control, anti-poaching monitoring, damage assessment, severe weather tracking, agriculture monitoring (“precision ag”), mineral source surveying, spill detection and infrastructure quality assessment.
About Bye Aerospace:
Bye Aerospace is an innovator of sophisticated aerospace technology. The company, which was founded in 2007, is headquartered near Denver and brings advances in energy and design efficiencies to aerospace applications. For more information, go to www.ByeAerospace.com.
