Professor Iain Gray is Chair of the Drone Industry Action Group and Director of Aerospace at Cranfield University. He leads the aerospace capabilities across the University and their strategic relationships with the world’s major aerospace industrial organisations.

Iain was the Chief Executive of Innovate UK (formerly known as the Technology Strategy Board) until he joined Cranfield in March 2015.

Iain has over 30 years of industry experience in the aerospace sector including roles at British Aerospace and BAE Systems. He held various engineering positions before taking on the role of Director of Engineering, then Managing Director at Airbus UK. He became the first Chief Executive of Innovate UK following its establishment in 2007.

He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He was awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal in 2007. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2011, and in 2014 was awarded a CBE for his contribution to innovation, science, and technology.