Merlin Expands C-Suite to Accelerate the Merlin Pilot’s Technical Development and Certification

September 18, 2024 at 09:00 AM EDT

Krishnan Anand joins the company in newly created Chief Program Officer role and Tim Burns joins as Chief Technology Officer

Merlin, the leading developer of safe, autonomous flight technology for fixed-wing aircraft, today announced the expansion of its C-suite to continue progressing the development, certification, and execution of the Merlin Pilot. The hires include Krishnan Anand, the company’s first Chief Program Officer, who will be responsible for the management and strategic execution of Merlin’s ongoing and new autonomy programs. Anand brings a wealth of aerospace experience from roles at industry leading companies like Supernal, Wisk, and Lockheed Martin.

Merlin also appointed aerospace engineering expert Tim Burns as its new Chief Technology Officer. Burns brings extensive technical experience to Merlin having held Chief Engineer positions at Honda Aircraft Company and L3Harris Technologies, as well as serving as the Vice President of Engineering at Thales Aerospace. Burns’ expertise is pivotal to lead Merlin’s engineering and technical teams as the company drives autonomous capabilities forward for Merlin’s civilian and military customers.

“As we enter a new phase of growth, including the ongoing flight test campaign of our certification-ready Cessna Caravan aircraft, it’s essential to strategically bring aboard talent that can meaningfully progress our work in developing, and proving, safe and effective autonomous flight technology,” said Matt George, CEO and founder, Merlin. “Merlin is at an inflection point; we’re meeting technical and certification milestones on an ongoing basis and signing significant contracts with the Department of Defense to enhance pilot efficiency and national security. We strongly feel Krishnan and Tim uniquely play an important role in upleveling the Merlin Pilot to meet not only our customers’ needs, but the aviation industry as a whole.”

About Merlin

Merlin is a venture backed aerospace startup building a non-human pilot to enable both reduced crew and uncrewed flight. Backed by some of the world’s leading investors, Merlin is scaling alongside our customers to begin leveraging autonomy today to solve some of aviation’s biggest challenges. To learn more, visit www.merlinlabs.com or follow us on X @merlinaero.