Gabrielle Wain is an expert executive with a background in policy and government relations. She is currently the Vice President of Global Policy and Government Affairs at Iris Automation, a company specialising in drone autonomous Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight technology. Gabrielle has been with Iris Automation for over five years and has held a range of positions.
Gabrielle currently leads a high-performing team focused on enabling autonomous BVLOS flight globally as the Vice President. Her team’s core roles include communicating with the US executive and legislature, obtaining legislative support for Detect and Avoid technology, and participating in state-level pilot programmes to demonstrate product capability. Gabrielle was also crucial in getting Iris’ technology’s first BVLOS approval in Canada and developing the Canada Pathfinder, a suite of products and services designed to assist Iris’ customers in flying BVLOS. She has also created government affairs capabilities in EMEA, LATAM and APAC, as well as providing strategic guidance and support to Iris’ product, operations and sales teams.
Gabrielle was previously the Head of Global Policy and Government Affairs at Iris Automation. She established the company’s policy and government affairs function, guiding new technology in a highly regulated industry. She secured Iris’ participation in several US and international BVLOS trials and developed relationships with government officials in North America, Europe and Asia.
She worked in the public affairs sector before joining Iris Automation as a Public Affairs Manager and Public Affairs Officer for the National Housing Federation (NHF) for five years. She shaped government and party policy, managed sector reputation, built political relationships, influenced legislation and increased the influencing capacity of NHF members in these roles.
Gabrielle also worked for EUK Consulting as a Policy Analyst and Researcher, where she was in charge of researching, analysing and interpreting policy and regulatory issues for a number of FTSE 100 clients. During the 2010 UK general election, she also worked as a support officer to the Permanent Secretary, Sir Leigh Lewis KCB, at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Gabrielle Wain has demonstrated a commitment to policy, government affairs and strategic engagement throughout her career. Her knowledge and experience continue to fuel innovation and growth in the drone technology industry.